


Lovestruck Idiots

by kIMBruHLEEh



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Awkward Sexual Situations, BDSM mentioned, Biting, Blowjobs, Crying /feelings, Cuddling, Curses, Depression, Dirty Talk, Dirty Thoughts, EXTREME stubbornness, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fetal movement, Fighting, First Times, Flirting, Fluff, Gay Fullmustard, Gore, Heart breaks, Heartache, Hickeys, I'll tag things as I go, Internal Struggle, Juvia's perverted mind, Kinda, Lesbian- Lucy, Long term pranks, M/M, Magical Bond, Making Out, Marking, Mentions of ice dildos, Metathesiophobia, Mind Games, Mpreg, Multi, Overthinking things, PLAGUES, Panic/ anxiety, Popsicles, Psychological Trauma, Public Display of Affection, Self-Hatred, Sexual Tension, Sexual innuendos, Shrinking, Slight Voyeurism, Sneaking Around, Spanking, Swearing, Teasing, Temporary Blindness, Things get blown out of proportion, Violence, Virgo x Lucy on the side, Weird games, agressive affection, anger issues, childish arguements, dragon slayers are posessive, ear touching, established relationships - Freeform, fear of having children, friendship building, gray being a stalker, hints of zeref/mavis, just a little, kid-natsu is a jerk, lewd behavior, lying / keeping dangerous information to oneself, magic eating, magic flowers, natsu isn't as naive is he lets on, non consensual piggy back rides, protective Gajeel, silliness, slight spoilers- but also an AU, spacing out, tough boys showing their softer side
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 23:01:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 88,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5473751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kIMBruHLEEh/pseuds/kIMBruHLEEh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(On hiatus- sorry my loves!)</p><p>Act 1: As young kids, Cana predicts that Gray will fall in love at first sight with a Dragon! Years later Gray keeps his feelings secret and drowns his jealousy in booze, until one night Juvia notices and gets the truth out him and decides she wants to help..!</p><p>Act 2: A jealousy crazed Natsu enacts Dragon Bond while Gray remembers a curse that had been put on him by a witch he defeated as a kid, but it's probably no big deal... right?</p><p>Act 3: Zeref finds out his brother is expecting and is determined to see for himself. Will Zeref have a violent reaction when he comes face to face with Natsu, or will he have a change of heart?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ACT 1-X777- The Past- Prologue

**ACT 1**

**July 10 th, X777**

**Fairytail Guild Hall**

**The Past**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

 

_“Gray!”_

_…_

_“Please get up! You need to get out of here!”_

_…_

_The demon Deliora roars loud, its mighty lungs reverberating through the smoldering ruins of what used to be my home town and all I could do was sit there in the rubble with tears streaking down my soot and ash covered cheeks and stare at the silhouette of the monster savagely smashing its mighty fists against a burning church my family used to visit every Sunday._

_“GRAY!!” The frantic screams of my mother finally reach me; I’m not sure how long she’s been calling out to me._

_I turn my head in her direction, where she still remained, pinned by a chunk of the church that Deliora had flung our way._

_That’s right… it had been headed towards me before my mother shoved me to the ground._

_Another roar from Deliora has my heart pounding and me scrambling to my feet and rushing to my mom’s side, my hands grip at the chunk of debris and I try with all my might to lift it. I can’t leave without her!_

_“Gray, sweetie, it’s too late, you need to hurry and get out of here!” My mother pleads weakly as she reaches out to me with the arm that isn’t wedged underneath the rubble with the rest of her body from the torso and down._

_I’m hysteric, the world is blurry with all the tears pouring down my face and I can barely breathe, the slab of concrete won’t budge! I need to try harder!_

_The rough edges of the concrete dig into my fingers and cause my palms to bleed but I don’t give up. I can’t leave her behind, she’s my mother, she’s all I have left now! I can’t lose my whole family today to this monster, I can’t!_

_“Sweetheart… let go…” My mother begs weakly, her glossy eyes becoming heavy and her only free arm falls to the ground but her fingers twitch towards me faintly._

_“NO! I CAN DO THIS!!”_

...

 

My body jolts with the feeling of falling and my eyes snap open. My entire body is shaking and my heart is pounding in my chest and ears. _That was all just a dream… a memory, three years ago now I believe._

Even still, knowing it was just another nightmare, I can’t close my eyes and go back to sleep, not now, anxiety eats at me and forces me to sit up in bed and scan my surroundings. It’s become a nightly routine for me to expect there to be demons lurking in the shadows, which makes sleeping nearly impossible for me. I will usually stay awake for as long as I can before exhaustion catches up with me and I pass out against my will.

My dorm is dim, bathed in the bluish hues of moonlight beaming in through my open window. Even with the frigid summer breeze coming in my cheeks are still tingling with an uncomfortable warmness and my stomach churns as vision blurs slightly by the tears gathering in my eyes but I refuse to let them go, instead I take a few small breathes and blink them away, I push it _all_ away. It takes a few minutes but I swallow those sour feelings down and block them out and I’m fine again.

 _I’ll be even better when I go out on a mission_. I think to myself as I push my covers back and dangle my legs over the edge of my bed, _time to get ready for the day._

 

…

 

Since it was before sunrise, I knew no one would be up, which means I couldn’t take a mission from the board. Gramps’ rules, all members of Fairytail must check in with him or his assistant just in case a mission goes wrong so everyone knows where to go looking if you are gone too long.

Going back to sleep isn’t an option, so I guess I will have to find something else to do while I wait. _Great_ … I think bitterly as I shove my hands into my jacket pockets and push the guild door open with my shoulder.

To my surprise I see Cana sitting at one of the many tables with her cards spread out on the top. From what I know of her, she’s been here much longer than I have and she isn’t very social, and neither am I, so I decided not to bother the brunette and head past her table towards the request board thinking maybe I could get ahead of the game and pick a good one so I can get out of here as soon as the master gets up.

“Um, hey Gray..!” Cana calls out to me nervously. I stop in my tracks and turn around to face her with a neutral expression while I fold my arms over my chest.

I shift my weight onto one foot as I respond with one half-muttered word: “Sup..?” I really wish she would just not talk to me though, but on the other hand she might have something pretty serious she needs to say, and if that’s the case I don’t mind listening, she kind of reminds me of the awkward older sister I never had.

She swallows hard as she stands from her seat and places her palms down against the table, her cheeks are turning a scarlet hue and her brows are tightly knit together. What is this? Is she going to spout out a love confession on me now?

My brow twitches with irritation as I unfold my arms to instead brace both of them against my hips, “Look, if you got nothing to say then don’t waste my time!” I spat out bitterly.

“Don’t be so rude, Gray! I was j-just…” Cana stammers and bites her lip, her expression going from timid to agitated as her big brown eyes shift from me to the table as she stands up straight, her hands sliding off the table and instead fold together in front of her, twiddling anxiously as she continues, “I just wanted to know if you would let me do a reading on you, I need the practice but I don’t really have a lot of volunteers…” She admits with a sad tone to her voice that has me feeling guilty for snapping at her.

I feel obligated to help her, at least _once_ to make up for my rudeness. I mean, she just wants to improve her abilities, and what harm could it do? She’s usually wrong about her readings anyway. She definitely _needs_ this practice.

I grumble _fine_ under my breath before begrudgingly making my way over to her and taking the seat across from the older mage.

Her eyes light up and she plops down in her seat, clasping her hands together with a huge grin on her face as she thanks me, and I brush it off with a shrug of my shoulders.

“Kay! Let’s try something easy to start off with!” Cana says as she swipes her hands across her cards and they all pull into a neat pile before her. I watch her as she pulls cards from the deck one at a time and place them face down on the table between us. Her eyes are closed and brows are furrowed in concentration. She stays like this, quiet and focused for a while.

I’m skeptical, I don’t really believe in her reading skills, or any sort of future telling mumbo jumbo. I believe in the _here_ and _now_. I don’t think anyone possesses the ability to predict something that hasn’t happened yet because life happens as it happens based on the choices we make, and if what was _going_ to happen could be foreseen doesn’t that mean we are all just someone else’s pawns acting out their own story? Wouldn’t that make our freewill an illusion?

I pinch the bridge of my nose and shake my head; it’s too early in the morning to have deep thoughts like this!

My attention focusses on Cana when I hear the subtle flicking noise of a card being turned over and placed back on the table face-up, they just look like weird abstract pictures to me, but she reads into them, studying the picture carefully for a moment, and I expect her to explain it to me, but she goes to the second one and flip it over and her features turned from focused to stunned, which makes me sweat a little but I remind myself that I _don’t_ believe in any of this, but I can’t help but scoot to the edge of my seat as I watch with apprehension as she flips over the final card. Why the heck does she look so freaked out and why does she have to be so quiet..!?

I wait as patiently as I physical can for all of two minutes as she stares at her cards with wide, unblinking eyes, before I snap and slam my hands down on the table and leaning over to her, practically shouting: “WELL? What’s it sayin’ about me?!”

She surprises me when she tosses her head back and starts laughing loudly, holding her sides and kicking her legs wildly under the table.

“Oh boy..! I really DO need to practice more! Even _I_ can’t believe this one!” She giggles as she starts to calm down, wiping a single tear from the corner of her eye, “I needed that laugh though! I’m gonna try again!” She says, smiling at me enthusiastically.

My eye twitches, I _really_ want to know now what her silly cards are saying, not that I believe them, but you can’t blame me for being curious!

“What did it say anyway?” I ask as I fold my arms on top of the table.

“It’s a really strange fluke, I’m afraid you wouldn’t take me seriously anymore if I told you…” She confesses with forced smile and a nervous bead of sweat dropping down her brow.

I already don’t take her seriously.

“N-no I won’t, I promise.” I lie with a smile I’m sure looked painfully awkward.

I’m not entirely sure why, but she bought it, either that or she changed her mind and decided she wanted to share a good laugh.

“Well… the cards tell me that today you are destined to fall in love at first sight with…” She hesitates, drawing out the last word as she stands and leans over the table, cupping her hands over her mouth as if she were afraid someone might read her lips from afar or hear her if she spoke the last words too loudly, (doesn’t she know we are alone right now?)

“A dragon..!”

The image of me standing at the alter pops into mind, an outdoor wedding on a warm spring day with cherry blossoms in full bloom, the friend’s I’ve made at Fairytail are gathered and standing, Gramps is up front with me, he’s the preacher of my special day. Then the wedding march song plays, and the gentle spring winds kick up gradually to a hectic whirlwind as a mighty dragon descends from the sky with rosy red lipstick and a white veil on its head. As soon as my bulky bride lands the entire ground quakes and knocks most of the guild off their feet. The daydream skips ahead to us saying our _I do’s,_ and it’s her turn, and instead of speaking, she roars loud enough to blow the alter and Gramps away into the wind!

It caught me off guard at first, but before I knew it I was actually _laughing,_ we both were!

I couldn’t even sit up straight, I ended up on the floor, holding my aching sides I slap my hand against the ground harder each time the image of my _bride_ pops into mind! I turn my head and look at Cana from underneath the table, and she’s in the same situation as me, rolling on the ground laughing with tears in her eyes!

“A DRAGON..?!” I _finally_ manage to choke out past my laughter, all Cana can do is nod her head as another barrage of giggles comes tumbling out of her mouth.

It’s a while before I can compose myself, but when I get to a point where I can actually speak coherently, I sit up and grin over at her and make a promise, “Cana, I swear, if your prediction comes true, I will give you the honorary title of being the best man at my wedding!”

She grins widely and gives a thumbs up at me and winks, “If that’s the case then I’ll throw you one hell of a bachelor party, kid!”

After we climb back up onto the table, Cana goes to reshuffling her cards with a small contented smile. I can’t help but smile too. _Maybe this whole social thing isn’t so bad after all_.

She gets that same focused look on her face as she draws out a few more cards, face down at first, “This one will be a bit tougher lets shoot for something a bit further away.” She hovers her hands over the cards and they flip over by themselves, when her eyes open she cracks a nervous smile.

“I feel really embarrassed… it seems I keep messing up today!” She confesses, I raise my brow at her in confusion. What did she mean? Did she get another bogus reading?

“What was it this time?” I ask with a slight tilt of my head.

“It says your dragon lover will give birth to a healthy baby girl on your twenty-seventh birthday..!” She exclaims before dropping her head down onto the desk with an aggravated groan.

I really do feel bad for her, but man, that’s pretty funny! What would a dragon-human hybrid look like anyway? I drift off in a day dream as I try to imagine myself cradling a giant egg with a bow on top of it.

My stifled giggling is cut off when I feel a hand on the back of my shoulder and has me jolting in surprising and whipping my head around fast enough to give myself whiplash! I blow air out my teeth and regain my cool composure after seeing it’s just Erza. Geeze, why does she always have to sneak up on me like that?!

“What’s going on here?” She asks, taking a seat beside me as she focuses all her attention the deflated Cana.

“I was trying to practice my tarot reading skills but today they suck worse than ever!” The brunette groans, her words muffled against the table.

“Yeah no kidding…” I mutter under my breath.

Erza shoots me a glare and punches me hard in the shoulder. I wince and rub the afflicted spot! That fricking hurt! This girl’s gonna kill me one day!

“Maybe it’s just that Gray is defective. Perhaps you should try a different specimen, I am perfectly willing to oblige.” Erza offers with a soft smile as she neatly folds her hands on top of the table.

“I’M RIGHT HERE YOU KNOW?” I shout at the redhead, how dare she call me defective?! That’s so rude! It’s probably true, but it’s still not nice to say!

Cana slowly lifts her head with a renewed determination, she grins at Erza and chuckles at my expense, “Yeah, maybe! I’ll give it a try, thanks Erza!”

Cana stacks her cards and shuffles them up again, she repeats the same process she had already done twice with me and places a few cards down on the table; when she flips them over she smiles brightly.

“The cards say that today is your lucky day, Erza!” Cana exclaims cheerfully.

“Well, now that you mentioned it, I did wake up feeling quite refreshed, not to mention I found some money lying on the ground on my way to the guild this morning.” After Erza tells her this, Cana squeals in delight and praises herself on how _awesome_ her powers are.

“Oh whatever…” I grumble. She acts like she forgot she just told me I was destined to meet my dragon bride today.

I stand up, planning to leave the guild and do something outside now that Erza and Cana are chattering away.

I’m surprised when the door opens up for me as I was reaching for the handle, and I’m even more thrown off by who is on the other side.

“Gramps..? What are you doing up this early?” I ask.

“I decided to take an early stroll through the forest this morning and I stumbled upon a new addition to our family!” After Gramps says this, I notice the little stubby fingers clinging to the master from behind as well as a few stray pink hairs poking out from behind the elder man’s head.

“Don’t be shy, my boy!” Gramps chuckles as he steps aside to reveal the kid standing behind him.

I felt something strange come over me, like the world suddenly slowed down and time paused on this moment. The first thing I notice are a pair of huge hazel-green eyes staring up at me.

_Ba-dum, ba-dum…_

He smiles at me, his expression lighting up with fiery excitement as he lifts his hand in a friendly waving gesture, “Hi! I’m Natsu Dragneel! What’s your name?”

“M-my name..?” I sputter out, what’s wrong with me? It’s like someone has cast a curse on me and now I can’t even move! Every muscle in my body feels like led! Even my tongue!

“Yes! What is it?” He asks, wrinkling his nose as he giggles gleefully.

I’m suddenly hyper aware of the prickly numb sensation in the tips of my fingers and toes and how hard it is to swallow right now, it’s almost like my throat is closing up! I can barely breathe; it feels like someone has punched me in the gut!

“I…” I struggle to get just that one syllable out and the second one isn’t any easier, “Am…!” Why does my skin feel like it’s burning from the inside! I must have a sudden feverish!

_Ba-dum-ba-dum-ba-dum!!_

Now my heart is throbbing, surely I’ve been cursed with some deadly disease and at any minute I’ll keel over!

My mouth starts moving before my mind can catch up and words tumble out of my tongue tied mouth,“Gay Fullmustard.” And at first, I didn’t realize I had made an error until the pinkette in front of me grinned and parroted me.

“It’s nice to meet you Gay Fullmustard!”

“NO!” I shake my head and wave my arms around frantically, my face feels like it’s on fire! How humiliating! At least the girls were so busy talking to master that they didn’t notice!

“Y-you must be hard of hearing, I said my name is _Gray_ _Fullbuster_! Not _that_!” I say irritably. What’s with me today?

The bright smile Natsu had been sporting fades into a pout and he scowls at me, “HMMPH!” He folds his arms across his chest and turns his shoulder to me, “I’ll have you know my hearing is better than even YOURS or anyone else’s here! All my senses are heightened thanks to Igneel! I heard you perfectly fine! Maybe _you_ just have floppy lips!” He jeers back at me.

FLOPPY LIPS? I’m FUMING, I don’t know WHY but the insult has my insides boiling with rage! There is no way this snot nosed kid just said that to me!

“What did you just say to me, _shrimp_?” I retort, looking down my nose at the pinkette menacingly.

Calling him a shrimp seems to set him off, _good_! Now he has a taste of his own medicine!

“SHRIMP..?!” Natsu parrots me again, this time with outrage instead.

I had a feeling that this would escalate, and I would have been more than happy to show this punk some respect, but my ears picked up on the conversation Gramps was having with the girls, I look over my shoulder towards them to hear better; he seemed to be telling them about Natsu, but all I caught was the phrase _Dragon Slayer._

I blinked in shock, “Wait,” I said, then turn my gaze back to see Natsu had his fist cocked back and was about ready to punch me. Oooh pinky is just BEGGING for me to knock him out! But I push that back for now with more important things on my mind.

“Are you seriously a Dragon Slayer?” I ask in astonishment. Looking him over once more, I can’t even believe I would ask such a thing, of course he _isn’t_! There is no way! Maybe I’m the one with hearing problems because this kid looks like he would be a bubble mage, or maybe… MAYBE! It suddenly hits me, like a brick on the head! That HAS to be it! I know his magic! He has the ability to make everyone around him as stupid as he is! That would explain why I acted like I did earlier!

“Of course I am!” Natsu declares proudly.

He’s totally lying. I roll my eyes and blow air out my teeth.

“IT’S TRUE! Look!” Natsu demands, shoving his fist near my face again, only this time the whole thing is engulfed in fire- and being me, not expecting to have my peach fuzz singed, nearly stumble over my own feet as I take a few quick steps back!

“So it IS true!” Erza calls out cheerfully as she rushes over with Cana on her heels; the two of them are amazed by Natsu’s magic, and his title.

Their chatter turns into muffled white noise to me as things in my head start clicking into place. What I was feeling when I first saw Natsu… no… that couldn’t be--

_“...you are destined to fall in love at first sight with a dragon!”_

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to push Cana’s voice out of my head. No! Future telling isn’t real! I must have eaten something wrong the night before or maybe I didn’t get enough sleep because of these damn nightmares! Maybe even, I could have just been overwhelmed from seeing someone with pink hair—and it was just so _disgusting_ that it messed with my organs— it isn’t an everyday occurrence you know! And besides, Cana said I would fall in love with a dragon today, and dragons and a dragon slayer are _not_ the same thing! They are the exact opposite… aren’t they? It doesn’t even matter if they are similar or not! No matter what Cana says, I will NEVER fall in love with Natsu Dragneel!

\---


	2. X791-Present-I'll be happy as long as you are

**October, 6 th, X791**

**Fairytail Guild Hall**

**Present Time**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

I think about that day sometimes, the day I met Natsu and I can’t help but laugh about it. I was such a difficult kid, honestly. But Cana was right, I was smitten with that flame-brained moron the moment I saw him. I’ve known this for many years now actually, I’ve known since I was fifteen, but it took me until Galuna Island to actually _accept_ them. I’m not so against Cana’s future telling abilities anymore, but unfortunately I still highly doubt her second prediction from that day will _ever_ come to pass for two reasons.

One, Natsu is a _guy_ for crying out loud, and TWO, I decided a while ago I would never tell him how I felt. It would just make things complicated, he has enough romantic stress with Lisanna being back in the picture and he and Lucy are really close. I’ve… made my peace with it, as long as he’s happy, then… I’ll be okay, at least I think so… but I don’t have to think about that for a while, Natsu has never been very interested in anything romantic, but one of those girls are likely to confess their feelings someday or another.

I’m pulled from my thoughts at the sound of Juvia’s soft voice and a gentle touch of her hand to my bare shoulder, (I’ve stopped freaking out when I notice I have stripped because Juvia has developed the helpful habit of picking them up for me)

“Um… Gray…”

I turn to her and notice, sure enough, my purple button up is folded neatly over her arm along with my black jeans. I look down at myself, hoping I at least still had my boxer shorts on! I breathe a sigh of relief when I see they are there. After all these years I _still_ feel embarrassed when I do this, even though everyone in this guild has seen me naked more times than they could even count.

“Yeah..?” I reply, spinning around in the barstool to face the water mage.

“I think… maybe… you’ve had a little too much to drink, darling. Perhaps it would be best if I helped you get home…”

\---

**October, 6 th, X791**

**Fairytail Guild Hall**

**Present Time (a little bit earlier)**

**Juvia Lockser**

 

The guild hall is alive with celebration, although, I’m not entirely sure what it is we are celebrating… but everyone seems to be having a good time, nonetheless!

Except… my darling Gray has be looking rather down lately, was this still the same matter he had been upset over after we came home from the Grand Magic Games? Or was it something else? Oh, I feel so foolish… I don’t ever know what to do when he gets into these moods. They’ve happened off and on since I’ve known Gray, and I can never pinpoint the cause of his distress, the first time I noticed I had asked if he wanted to talk about it and he told me, and I quote, “ _Don’t worry about it, I’m fine_ ,” but he was clearly _not_ fine, however, I respected his wishes, I know how it is to want to keep some things to yourself. So I try my best to look the other way, but… I’m so worried, perhaps he’s depressed, maybe he _needs_ to talk about how he feels with someone, even if it isn’t me, I bet if he just talked about whatever was weighing him down _once_ he would feel like an immense weight had just been lifted from his shoulders.

After watching Gray down his fourth beer of the night at the bar I sigh softly and lean against the support beam behind me. I sink down to the floor and clutch his shirt to my chest as I rest my cheek against my knees. _Would Gray hate me if I kept pushing him to talk about his feelings? I don’t… want him to hate me but…_ I look up in time to see him slamming down his fourth glass, and asking Mira for a fifth, even from here, I can see the concern in her sweet expression, but whatever she may be thinking she keeps quiet about and instead gives him another glass.

I notice his friends across the guild; Natsu, Lucy and Wendy were laughing and pointing across from them at Erza, who had some cool whip from her hot chocolate on the tip of her nose. I shake my head and smile, but my smile flat lines as a thought occurs to me, they’re all so happy, none of them realize something is bothering Gray.

I let my legs drop into a cross-legged position and drop Gray’s shirt into my lap, then carefully, I fold it up neatly, pressing out the wrinkles with my fingertips.

After I finish I hang the shirt over my forearm and stand up. Since Gray’s best friends aren’t aware of the situation, I suppose it falls on me to take care of him, and I’m sure he wouldn’t want them worrying anyway.

I approach him slowly, reluctant in my movements. On my way I find his jeans just lying on the floor, so I stop and pick them up and fold them over my arm as well before continuing towards the bar. I’m terrified that he will get upset at me; I’m only trying to help, after all, I hope he will realize this.

I lightly tap on his shoulder and say his name quietly, as to not draw attention to us. I feel slightly less nervous when he turns to me with a neutral expression, but upon seeing his clothes in my arms he seems to smile a little, but then look down at himself, perhaps worried that he was fully nude, (thank goodness he isn’t, I don’t think I could focus properly otherwise! It’s already difficult as it is.)

“Yeah..?” It’s only one word but his slur is very apparent. I spare a quick glance towards his cup and notice that his fifth is already empty, the sight makes my heart ache for him, but I stiffen my upper lip and remind myself why I’m here.

“I think… maybe… you’ve had a little too much to drink, darling. Perhaps it would be best if I helped you get home…” I suggest, trying my best not to sound too forceful.

I expected him to brush me off or be stubborn, but my beloved ice mage stands up, swaying slightly and takes hold of both my shoulders, turns me around so that my back is facing him, and tells me, “Lead the way,” as he holds on to me with a firm grip.

I fight back the heat rising in my cheeks and instead focus on the task at hand, I must get Gray home and in bed before he does something he will regret in the morning.

 

…

 

I huff with irritation as Gray steps on the back of my heel for the thirteenth time since we left the guild hall.

“M’sorry…” He mumbles, breathing near my ear, and normally, this would send me into a fit, but not right now, the most important thing is to take care of him. Gray has been incredibly difficult this entire time! He’s tried to pick a fight with several people that have passed by us, and he reeks of alcohol so badly that I think _I’m_ starting a buzz!

“Hey Juvi, can you give me a piggy-back ride?” Gray asks me with a child-like snicker as we turn towards down the block his apartment complex is located on.

The thought has me fuming, but I remind myself that we’re almost to Gray’s.

“I don’t think I am strong enough to- ACK!” I stumble forward and my knees nearly buckle when Gray suddenly jumps onto my back and nearly chokes me with the way he wraps his arms around my neck.

“I am a SMALL person, Gray!” I snap at him, now walking sluggishly with his weight pushing down on me.

“But you’re _strong_ too…” He slurs, loosening his grip. His words stroke my ego in all the right places and I carry him the rest of the way to his home without another complaint. _Gray thinks I’m strong!_

 

…

Once inside his place, I help him to his couch first, and throw his clothes onto the coffee table, making a mental note to throw them in the wash after I deal with Gray. All that alcohol is dehydrating him, and if he goes to sleep now he’ll wake up feeling terrible, I need to get him to drink a few glasses of water, maybe make him some food, I don’t recall seeing him eat anything tonight aside from a few chips.

I leave him on his couch, giggling about whatever drunken things are running through his pretty head as I occupy his kitchen. I’ve been here a few times so I know my way around… kind of, but I found my way to his cups and the sink, and that was good enough for now. I filled up two and brought them back out to Gray, one I set on the coffee table, the other I held out in front of him.

He looks at the glass as if it’s a foreign entity, he even reaches up and strokes some of the condensation off the side of the glass with the knuckle of his index finger as if this is this first cup he’s ever seen I his entire life.

With a small sigh, I explain to him, “You need to drink as much as possible, otherwise you will wake up feeling terrible in the morning,”

He gingerly takes the cup from me and nods meekly, something about him has changed again, and now he’s sipping at the water. Satisfied for now, I head back into the kitchen, quickly explaining that I would prepare him a quick meal.

Gray isn’t much of a shopper, but it isn’t as if his cupboards are barren, it’s just, a lot of the same quick and instant meals, ramen, canned vegetables… I decided to fry some of the vegetables then add it into the ramen with a touch of flavor. It takes me about fifteen minutes, and when it’s done I bring a big bowl out for Gray, along with another cup of water.

I can’t help but feel pleased when I see both glasses I had left are completely empty. Without a word I set the food in front of him and take both empty cups and go back into the kitchen to clean up. It would be rude of me to leave this mess for him to deal with when I’m the one who made it.

I end up doing all of his dishes instead of the few pans I had used. They just seemed to have been sitting in the sink for a while and I couldn’t help myself. It made me feel useful at least.

When I reenter the living room sometime later, I notice Gray has eaten all the food I made him, which makes me happy, but when I see him with his face buried against one of the couch pillows with his back facing me. I feel a heavy weight in my heart again.

I had thought he fell asleep, and planned to grab a blanket from his room to cover him with, but as I approached, I heard soft sniffling noises. Is Gray crying? My frown deepens and instead of getting a blanket, I sit on the edge of the sofa, near his knees. I reach a hesitant hand forward, and then gently press it to the middle of his back and start rubbing small circles, hoping that it would somehow soothe him.

He startles me when he sits up abruptly, his eyes red, glossy, cheeks soaked with tears, but I only see his disheveled state for a moment before he throws his arms around me and buries his head against my shoulder and sobs.

“Oh…” I feel my own eyes starting to water, I wrap my arms around Gray and pat his back as I shush him softly. “Shh, it’s okay…” I tried to assure him. I wish there was something I could do to help Gray with whatever demons he was battling inside himself. I’d give anything to make him feel better, even take all of his troubles into myself if I had to.

“H-how do you handle it, Juvia?” Gray chokes out, his tears are starting to dampen my shirt, but I pay no mind to it.

“What do you mean?” I ask, moving my hands to rub his forearms instead. How do I handle it? What could he mean? He’s the strong one here holding in emotions that are obviously beyond painful.

“The jealousy... I can’t take it. I’m so jealous, _all_ the time, I can’t take it! I thought I could ignore it and tell myself that… that I’m fine, b-but I’m not!” After hearing him say that my heart sinks a little. So, he is jealous of someone else, meaning he has feelings for another. Even though it stings I don’t pull away from Gray, instead I rest my head against his and sigh as I think of a good way to answer his question.

“Honestly, Gray… I’m not good with handling jealously at all… I’m the worst person to ask. I wear all my emotions on my sleeve.” I admit with a shrug of my shoulders while tracing random patterns in his biceps, and I only stop when he pulls away enough to look me in the eyes with pleading ones.

“… I don’t know what to do.” He says, sucking in his lower lip as he shakes his head to and fro.

“Perhaps…” I begin, reaching up to wipe away his tears with the sleeve of my shirt before continuing, “You should tell this person how you feel, who knows? Maybe they will feel the same way for you, and as a pair, you can tell them that when they are around whoever you are jealous of, it makes you feel insecure…” I suggest, even though it makes my stomach knot up.

“No… I can’t… I can’t tell them, _ever_. I-I’m not good enough for this person.” Gray almost looks _terrified_ at the mention of such a proposal.

I don’t know who this person is, but I loathe them, not only because I am jealous, but because this person has made Gray feel unworthy of them. If only I could show Gray how I see him through my own eyes, then maybe he would believe that he’s _more_ than good enough.

“What kind of person would be too good for you, Gray?” I ask with a small tilt of my head as I watch his eyes carefully. He seems to be debating on if he should tell me or not, but the alcohol in his system helps makes it a quick decision, I’m sure.

“It’s… i-it’s Natsu…”

I’m overwhelmed with complete and utter shock. There were a few people I suspected, but none of them were Natsu!

“Y-you’re gay?” I ask with surprise, and I’m even more thrown off at the shockingly sober response he gives me.

“Actually, I don’t want to label myself like that. I mean, people are people in my eyes, you know? I see a person for who they are, not their gender.”

The fact that it’s not me he wants hurts deeply, but it makes me feel honored that he trusts me with this information. I want to see Gray happy… and if Gray’s happiness is with Natsu then… I’ll try my best to help make it happen! (At least I didn’t lose the competition of Gray’s heart to another woman…)

I don’t realize I’m covering my mouth with my hands until I see Gray scratch the back of his neck uncomfortably. I must look like I am appalled by his confession! I must clear this up!

“G-Gray..! I… I just never suspected it would be Natsu… I mean, _Gray,_ he’s so sweet, e-except when he’s angry! B-but I think, you should at least try to tell him how you feel, the worst that could happen is that he will tell you he doesn’t feel the same way, I’m positive he would never abandon you as a friend! I mean, the rejection would h-hurt but, at least you would know you tried instead of living your life wondering what _would_ have happened as you watch him be with someone else from the sidelines…” I hit a little too close to home with that one and it makes me frown a little, although Gray doesn’t seem to notice it, thankfully.

“You know what, Juvia? I WILL tell him, I’ll tell him first thing tomorrow!” Gray declares, standing up from the couch and thrusting his fist into the air with determination, I stand with him and nod approvingly.

“Good!” I agree.

“I’ll march right into the guild..!”

“I’ll be cheering you on!” I add in.

“I’ll go right up to that pyro…!”

“Yes!”

“And I’ll challenge him to a duel!” Gray decides excitedly, stars practically twinkling in his eyes, and reminding me that he’s still hopelessly drunk.

“ _No!”_ I shake my head and form an “x” with my arms.

“A gentle duel with only light touches allowed!”

I don’t even know how to respond to that, so instead I start pushing Gray towards his bedroom as he loudly lists the rules for his _gentle duel_ , which sounds more like cuddling to me.

I help him into bed, but as I turn to leave he grabs my arm and abruptly tugs me in and rolls me over him onto the more spacious side of his bed before kicking around his blankets rather violently as if trying to tenderize them, all the while he’s making grunting noises. I can’t help myself, I giggle at his bazar struggle.

When he throws his blanket over me and pulls me into his embrace, I am reminded of all my fantasies and for a second I thought maybe I had slipped into one again, but upon pinching myself I found I was still awake. I know I really shouldn’t stay and I should excuse myself and go home but I can’t find the strength. It’s like my entire body has turned to jelly…

“Juvia… can I tell you something?” Gray asks, sounding sad again. In our current position with me being the little spoon I can’t see his face, so instead I gently stroke the arm currently draped over my waist.

“Of course…” I assure him with a gentle stroke of my thumb over his knuckles.

He doesn’t speak for a full minute, it’s quiet until I hear him sniffle, and my heart aches to know he’s upset again.

“You remind me of my mother… you kind of look like her too… I…” He swallows hard and presses his forehead against my back; I feel his warm tears seeping through my shirt.

_I look like Gray’s mother_? The realization smacks me with a whole new level of understanding. He’s opening up to me so much because I remind him of her. So does that mean he’s _only_ opening up because he’s pretending I’m her? Or because I’m a genuine close friend of his that he trusts?

I ended up learning a lot about Gray that night, even after the effects of the liquor wore off he continued talking, at first it was all the things bothering him lately, and they all came flooding out. I learned about how his mother passed, and about Deliora, about how he felt when he died and discovered the arch of time mage sacrificed herself to save him, just like her mother had, and that what had been bothering him after the games.

By early sunrise, his eyes were red and puffy but he wasn’t crying anymore, nor was he telling me sad things, but reliving his favorite childhood and teen memories. Near the end I was smiling with my eyes closed, listening to the silky sound of his voice as he described his favorite mission as a kid, how he’d laugh at some memories and have a hard time telling them past his fits of giggles. It was all so nice to hear him open up, but I was fighting my eyelids.

 

…

 

I wasn’t aware of when it got quiet, but as soon as I realized I was listening to the sound of Gray snoring softly instead of his chattering, I realized what I had done. I fell asleep! Oh I hope he isn’t angry with me or thought I was disinterested in what he was saying! I really enjoyed his stories, the good ones anyway, and I was more than willing to listen to the bad ones too and comfort him to my best ability.

I decided to lie there a little longer and just let my sleep hazed mind wander, taking in some of the things Gray had told me and whatever else. With him sleeping I felt like it would be rude if I accidentally woke him while trying to leave, and leaving anyway would make this feel awkwardly like a one night stand (Oh goodness, there goes my imagination!)

Twiddling my thumbs with my face the color of Erza’s hair I realize our position hasn’t changed since last night, and the two of us are intimately close..! If… Gray were to happen to have a _morning surprise_ I would surely feel it against my behind! Gosh what am I thinking!? He loves Natsu, and would much rather it be him instead of me here lying next to him.

…

I wonder what Natsu would do if he had been in my position of comforting Gray tonight and woke up this way. If… Gray had a little morning issue, would Natsu overreact about it or… no, I don’t think he would honestly. I think he only overacts when there is more than one person around, but if it were just the two of them here… would he maybe, be even a _little_ curious? Would he move his hips a little to tease Gray as he slept? Surely he would do something like that as a joke… maybe? And what if Natsu happened to like it!?

My entire face is practically evaporating with how hot it is! I can barely hold still and I didn’t realize I was fidgeting until now!

“What are you spazzing about _now_?” Gray grumbles groggily.

I nearly screamed. He’s awake! He. IS. AWAKE! How long has he been awake? Can he see my face? Does he think I’m some pervert now? Ok, that boat has already sailed but why NOW do I have to seem like I’m being creepy!? Just when we were getting along so well! Wait a second, he’s been so honest with me thus far, if I lied now how would it seem? Would he be able to tell that I was lying? Would he stop trusting me?

“Honestly, I am curious as to how Natsu would react if you two shared a bed for the night and he um… accidentally woke up to your morning wood.” I admit, closing my eyes and wishing I literally evaporate right now.

Gray abruptly pulls away from me and shifts, turning over so that his back is pressed to mine instead of his front as he chides back at me; “Geeze, Juvia, why’d you have to go and say something like that?! I wasn’t prepared! What are you doing thinking about stuff like that anyway? I thought you’d be hating him right now!”

I’m glad he can’t see how red my face is right now. Thinking about it now, I don’t really feel angry or jealous of Natsu, I mean, of course I’m saddened that I can’t be the one with Gray, but somehow thinking of the two of them together just feels _right_ , like Natsu is the only one who has ever made sense for Gray and vice versa. Trying to picture anyone with either now is just… awkward and strange.

“Actually… I think you two would be perfect for each other.” I admit sadly.

Silence settles between us for a moment before the bed shifts, Gray gets on his back, then sits up and leans over me and to my surprise, he kisses me on the cheek. It’s the faintest of pecks.

“I’m sorry, Juvia, I know this must be devastating for you, but, well, maybe if I had met you first…” I don’t need Gray to finish the rest so I interrupt him by reaching back to cover his mouth with my palm. I don’t care if what he was about to say was genuine or something to make me feel better, the fact he cares about how I feel at all is enough.

“As long as you’re happy, I’ll be happy. Let’s make a deal, shall we?” I suggest, rolling away so I can sit up and look at Gray, he props himself up on his elbow and looks at me attentively, waiting for me to continue, “I’ll help you win Natsu’s heart, and in exchange, you’ll help me find love of my own.” After I finish, I hold out my hand for him to shake on it.

Gray gets a huge grin on his face, reaches out with his free hand and slaps his palm against mine with a loud clasp before grasping it tight, “It’s a deal, Juvia.”

 

\---

**October, 7 th, X791**

**Fairytail Guild Hall**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

I had completely forgotten about what I promised Juvia I would do when I was drunk last night, so there I stood, outside the guild with her pushing me from behind and my heels dug deep in the dirt.

“I can’t do this!” I exclaim, shaking my head wildly as she shoves at me harder.

“What about challenging him to that _soft duel_ you were so excited about, huh, Gray?” Juvia asks with a hint of teasing to her tone as she tries to tickle my sides in an attempt to get me to move, but all it does is make me squirm and laugh. I don’t budge and inch though.

When I compose myself, I clear my throat and spin around to face her, she nearly falls from my sudden motion so I catch her by the forearms and keep her up as I look her dead in the eye.

“Ok, we can _never_ talk about the soft duel again, like _ever_.” I feel my face flushing against my will. I can’t believe I even said something like THAT out loud! That’s so humiliating!

“Oh come on, that was my favorite part! I can imagine it now! You and Natsu tangled up in a nice, soft blanket, sharing body heat and loving smooches!” Juvia puckers her lips and starts making loud kissy noises towards me.

My face gets hot and I stammer around with my vocabulary in search of a response, but the image she just put in my head was a really _nice_ one.

“Haven’t you grown tired of just _wondering_ what his supple body will feel like up against yours, Gray?” Juvia asks me in that husky voice she uses whenever she gets really passionate about _me_. It’s really unsettling hearing her talk like about Natsu and I…

“I… hardly think it’ll be supple…” I mutter under my breath nervously as I look around us to make sure that no one was approaching.

“But how will you know for _sure_ unless you embrace him?” Juvia asks as she clasps her hands together, drifting off into a daydream that I’m glad I can’t see.

I look to the left, then the right, coast clear. I relax a little and grab Juvia’s shoulders and shake her lightly to bring her back to reality.

“J-Juvia… I was drunk last night… I honestly can’t do this; I can’t tell Natsu how I feel…”

Juvia’s eyes shift to somewhere just beyond me and widen, I don’t have time to question it before--

“Tell me how you feel about what, _Gray_?”

I jolt and spin around to face Natsu so fast I nearly knock Juvia, but she’s a tough chick! And heck, if it wasn’t for her I would bolt out of here like, _now_. But she grips the back of my shoulders tightly and keeps me firmly in place. What the hell!? A moment ago she couldn’t even budge me! Now she’s suddenly stronger?

My heart slams against my ribcage painfully as I scratch the back of my head an attempt to smile at Natsu but I’m sure it looks completely forced and awkward.

“What’s with that awkward smile?” Natsu asks, narrowing his eyes as he takes a step closer to me, it’s then I notice happy is occupying his shoulder, the blue exceed is studying me with interest, which is never good.

Natsu suddenly gasps, clasping his hands over his cheek as his gaze darts between Juvia and I, then he puts words into my mouth for me, “Are you and Juvia FINALLY together?! Thank Mavis, Gray! I thought you would NEVER pull your head out of your ass! I was starting to think you’d taken up permanent residency in your colon!” Natsu chuckles as he itches his nose with the side of his finger.

Happy’s eyes narrow at his companion, then they shift over to me suspiciously. That damn cat… I feel like he knows something. He hasn’t noticed for all these years, so why would he now? I need to keep my cool.

“Gray has feelings for another, and he wishes to confess to them!” Juvia pipes up from behind me.

_Juvia, can you hear my thoughts? If you can, you better RUN as soon as Natsu leaves because you are toast, no wait, you are WORSE than toast, you are BURNT TOAST. And not just a LITTLE bit burnt either, I’m talking full on black front and back, hard enough to crack open a coconut type of BURNT._

“I’m sorry…” I hear Juvia whisper so quietly behind me that I barely heard it at all.

“Hahaha! Really, Gray? Well what do you wanna tell me about it for? Go tell _them_ you crazy love-popsicle!” Natsu says with an encouraging wave of his hand.

“I’ll… get right on that…” I reply stiffly, turning to leave but Juvia keeps a tight hold on me.

“Actually Natsu, Gray wanted to talk to _you_ about it privately when you had a moment!”

_Juvia you are dead to me._

“Well alright, sure thing, I wanna get a bite to eat first in the guild, but after we can go down by the river and do some sparring while we talk about it! See yah, Gray! Later Juvia!” With that, Natsu leaves the two of us, we watch the doors of the guild swing open and then shut, before we turned to face each other.

…

“I’m going to kill you.” I tell her casually, saving up all my rage inside of me for that special moment when I decide to fulfill my threat.

“This will be good for you, and I promise, I’ll be right there, I’ll hide in the water, so that way, if he rejects you, I’ll be at your side in a moment and you can cry it out in my ample bosom!” Juvia promises as she pats my shoulder affectionately.

I am doomed.

\---


	3. X778-The Past-I might have developed the smallest of problems

**April, 20 th, X778**

**Stella**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

In the past two years, I think that I _might_ have developed the smallest of problems. It’s truly a miniscule thing, and it probably doesn’t mean anything at all, honestly it isn’t even THAT big of a deal, so it’s not actually a problem! Really! So what if I have started to take requests that are located near the ones Natsu picks? So _what_ if I just so happen to finish mine as quickly as possible and wander over to where Natsu is doing his and just so _happen_ to watch how he deals with individual situations? It’s not like I’m hurting anyone or being creepy, I mean, sure, Natsu doesn’t know I’m there, and if he does he hasn’t said anything about it so it means what I’m doing doesn’t bother him, so it makes it okay in the long haul. And besides, Gramps DID tell me to watch over Natsu, so really, I’m just doing the old man a favor!

So, I couldn’t actually find another request even _close_ to this part of Stella, so I decided to just keep tabs on Natsu from afar… it’s not the first time I’ve had to do this either. I think I’ve been monitoring Natsu’s missions since the first one, and that time I had been curious about his skill level so I followed him to a nearby village where he was supposed to slay a giant snake that was terrorizing the villagers… he ended up getting eaten alive at first! But it seemed to work out for him since destroyed the snake from within. I was mildly impressed with him at the time, but then one of the villagers started talking about how they heard ominous roaring coming from the mountain, and the flame brained idiot thought it might be Igneel so he went up there!

Obviously it wasn’t his dad; it turned out to be a territorial mother beast that beat him up pretty badly for crawling around in her nest, but I intervened and pulled his dumb ass out of there!

It was the first time I ever saw Natsu get upset, he didn’t cry, I think his pride wouldn’t let him, so his emotions came out with anger and he ended up blooding his fists after smashing them against a tree trunk repeatedly as he vented his frustrations out to me.

 

…

 

_I stood on the sidelines helplessly as Natsu violently assaulted an innocent tree, pieces of bark were chipped off after each punch, little by little his attacks wore down the tree’s protective layer until only the white skin beneath was exposed, and even that he struck until it caved in and splintered in the shape of his fists. His labored breathing became more erratic with each passing second._

_His hairs stood on end and his wide eyes were filled to the brim with tears he refused to let shed. I wanted to stop him when I saw what he was doing to his hands, but I knew how it was, this is what he needs to do to, I get it. I’ve had moments like this before._

_“Damn it! DAMN IT!” Natsu curses through clenched teeth as he punches the trunk once more before sinking down to his knees, his knuckles covered in fresh cuts, splinters and bruises._

_“Igneel… why did you leave me all alone..? W-what am I supposed to do…?” I hear the catch in Natsu’s voice before it trails off and I decide to approach him them._

_I squat down behind him and place my hand on his shoulder with a reassuring squeezing._

_“I think the answer to your question is pretty obvious…” I tell him, and he shrugs off my hand and looks over his shoulder at me with a disdainful glare, as if he were expecting me to say something he didn’t want to hear._

_“You keep on getting stronger, and one day, when you find Igneel, you give him a good punch right in his snout!” I tell him as I make a fist for emphasis._

_Natsu’s scowl fades and slowly, it’s replaced by that smile, the one that always makes me feel so… uncomfortable, but in a good way I think._

_…_

Every time I think about that smile it does something weird to my heart it’s like a wobbly sensation that I’m not too sure about yet.

I pull out of my thoughts at that and fold my arms behind my head as forge on a decent enough distance away from the pinkette traveling up the frosted forest path ahead of us. From what I understand he’s supposed to be looking for what’s cursing the village and causing them to shrink to the size of mice! My first thought was maybe someone cast the curse on the water, my theory was, maybe drinking it was causing the people to slowly shrink, since the villagers said that this happened gradually over a month, but what does Natsu do? He goes straight into the forest! Sometimes following him around is a huge pain, I just want to turn him in the right direction, leave clues for him to find so he knows where to go. What even makes him think the forest has anything to do with this curse? The villagers already told him that no one really comes here except to gather wood!

My hand brushes up against a bush as I’m walking and I don’t think much of it, but then seeing Natsu come to a sudden stop has me quickly darting behind a tree and crouching down as I watch the fire mage sniff the air and turn around in a circle, left, then right, before getting down on all fours. What’s this idiot doing now!?

He turns in my direction and I duck down quickly. My heart stammers and I peak around the other side in time to see him standing and now walking this way, but then he freezes and stares off into space towards the tree I’m hiding behind, but he can’t see me right? He can’t, there is no way! Not with all these bushes in the way!

“G-Gray..! Don’t move..!” Natsu calls out in a loud whisper and my heart skips a beat. He just called my name, he knows I’m here?! What?!

My panicking is interrupted by creaking above me, followed by the rustling of leaves behind me. I slowly turn my head to see thick vines dancing uncomfortably close to me, the way they moved reminded me eerily of a cobra and it was in no way natural.

My gaze shifts upward, and as soon as it does I feel the color drain out of my body. Sitting directly above me on a branch is a half-naked old woman wearing leaves and vines as clothing, and her hair! Wait a second! Those are the same vines that are--!

In the next instant those vines coil around me, snatch me up and wind me up like a yo-yo. My world spins round and round in a mixture of white and green and a blur of pink.

“YOU LET HIM GO RIGHT NOW YOU STINKY OLD PRUNE!” Natsu demands furiously, his fists igniting with intense flames.

The old woman cackles as she thrusts me around with her vines like a limp rag doll. I think I’m going to be sick! _This must be how Natsu feels on transportation_!

How did I let myself become so careless? Now I am a damsel in distress! I can’t use my maker magic with my arms pinned like this!

“I would rather NOT! You see, little boy! The harvest is upon us!” She laughs insanely.

“What are you yacking about!? Are you the one responsible for shrinking the village people?” Natsu demands as he throws a fireball up at the woman, but she jumps down onto another branch and howls with rustic laughter!

“Yes! That would be me, dearie!”

“Why’d you do it, huh? What do you get from making everyone tiny little shrimps!?”

“For my stew of course..! Chopping one person into tiny little pieces is such hard work; so instead, I take a _bunch_ of people and turn them tiny! It’s much less messy and far more delicious!” She gleams ominously as she licks her filthy lips.

“You’re sick, old hag! I’m gonna put you in the ground!” Natsu promises with heat in his voice as he assumes a fighting stance, his flames increasing by the second.

“Not so fast, dearie!” She interrupts him, holding me out on display, upside down with all the blood rushing into my head. She waves me around like someone would a sick to a playful dog.

“You want your little friend, do yah?” She asks, and then squeezes me tighter, and then her vines start to feel funny to me, almost like static electricity, it wasn’t painful but I didn’t appreciate the sensation!

“Hey, what are you doing to him!?” Natsu calls out with horror in his voice.

_What does he mean by that?_

“FETCH BOY..!” She yells before chucking me forward, releasing me into the air.

Everything next is a confusing rush of colors in the addition of my own screaming as I fell through the air in some unknown direction.

“Hang on, Gray! I got yah..!” I hear Natsu yell but I don’t know where he is, or even where I am at the moment!

Boom, bang, crash! Something warm is wrapped around me but I’m still rolling and it lasts for a few confusing minutes but to me it feels like an eternity, and when it finally ends I lie there, head spinning and my stomach feeling uneasy.

…

“Is it finally over..?” I groan when the world stops spinning so fast.

“Not yet, we still got to go kick that witch’s butt!” Natsu says as he sits up, and I go along with him, falling back into his hands--- wait a second…

I look around, at my hands, at Natsu, at the dark cloudy sky and the forest around us, everything is so huge!

“N-Natsu, what’s happening!?” I ask in a fit of panic as I stare down at his hands and forearms, which were now cradling me like I was some dainty little fairy, or pixie!

“You got real tiny, Gray!” Natsu says with a tremor in his voice as he presses his lips together in a thin line. His eyes are watering and I see his chest heaving and hear some muffled laughter bubbling up his throat.

“DON’T YOU DARE, NATSU!” I scream, my face inflamed with embarrassment. How could I let this happen to myself?

Natsu can’t hold it in any longer! He busts up laughing, falling onto his back and clutching me to his chest as he rolls around in the snow like a turtle stuck on its shell!

“BWHAHAHAAHAHAHA!! G-GRAY YOU CAN BE FAIRYTAIL’S M-MASCOT! AHAHAHAHAHAHA..!” He can’t speak anymore after that, not for a while, he just keeps laughing and I glare at his scarf irritably the entire time.

“JUS…. YOU…. AHAHAHAHA! YOU JU…. YOU… HAHAHAHAA! GRAY… _GRAY!_ YOU NEED… HAHAHA! WHOHAHAHA! YOU NEED SOME WINGS! SOME WINGS, GRAY..!”

I am not amused in even the slightest way.

“LITTLE… L-LITTLE WINGS! BAHAWHWAHAHA! S’TOO CUTE! GRAY..!! YOU’RE S’CUTE!! HAAHAHAHAHAHA..!”

I can’t help but blush with him saying things like that, even if he’s just making fun of me. I’m not cute. I blow air out my teeth and roll my eyes as he sits up, holding me out in his hands, looking at me with tears running down his face and a huge grin.

I’ve always thought it was strange that Natsu refuses to cry when he’s upset, but when he’s laughing he just can’t help it, he practically bawls!

He shifts me into one hand and uses his now free one to wipe his tears on his sleeve, his laughter dying down into soft hooting chuckles and giggles.

“Are you done now?” I ask cynically.

“Not yet!” Natsu beams at me with a toothy smirk before reaching for me with his other hand and gently booping my belly.

“H-hey! What’s the big idea!?” I snap at him, swatting at his finger with my frustratingly puny hands!

“Tickle, tickle..!” He giggles, holding me captive in his palm while wiggling his index finger against my sides and stomach! D-damn it! I hate being tickled!

I growl at first but it soon dissolves into snorting laughter! How embarrassing!

“Gray! I didn’t know you snorted when you laugh!” Natsu elates as if he’s just found a chest filled with gold.

_I hate him! I hate this guy! He’s so infuriating! I hate him, I hate him! Fire breathing bastard!_

“How about this..?” Natsu asks, flipping me over in his palm and grasping me like a doll. I yell in protest but he turns me around in his fist and lifts the back me closer to his face, I don’t know what to expect, my heart is practically trying to escape from my ribcage and my face feels like it could make Natsu’s fire’s seem cold in comparison!

Natsu blows a gentle stream of warm air against the back of my neck. Not only do I scream internally, but I scream out loud as well.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” I wriggle and thrash in his grasp, but he just blows on me again and my entire body shivers involuntarily, then he has the gull to laugh again. that _laugh_! My stomach does a flip flop and I concede my fate, letting my head droop against his thumb.

As soon as I stop my struggle he stops his blowing on me and instead rubs the top of my head with a gentle finger. It’s a pleasant feeling and gets me pretty droopy eyed and relaxed.

…

“Can we just keep you like this, Gray? You much less annoying when you’re tiny!” He almost sounds serious, but he HAS to be joking. He can’t honestly think me being this small forever is a genuinely good idea!

“ _Natsu_ …” I say in a warning tone, and he sighs with exasperation.

“FINE..! I’ll make the smelly old hag change you back and save the village from becoming soup! You’re no fun!”

“She was gonna make _stew_ you idiot.” I correct him.

“Yeah, yeah, same thing..!” Natsu brushes it off as he stands up and tucks me into his scarf before making his way back up the hill we rolled down earlier.

“No it isn’t, Natsu. Soup is more watery, and stew is thick.” I tell him as I cling to his scarf out of fear of falling out of it and being stepped on by him.

“Potato, tomato..!”

Does he mean tomato to _-mato_?

“That’s not even the right saying! A potato and tomato couldn’t be MORE opposite!”

“How so..?” He asks, scurrying up the side of the hill, he slides down a few times, but after a third attempt he manages to get to the top with the help of an exposed root he grabs onto.

“A potato is hard and a tomato is squishy, one is a vegetable, the other is a spud!” I explain, feeling a vein popping up in my forehead. _He can’t really be this stupid_!

“Well _technically_ a tomato is a fruit.” He tells me with a hearty laugh.

“How do you even _think_ that?” I ask, dumbstruck.

“All fruits have seeds right..?” He asks, and I nod.

“Uh, yeah..?” I deadpan.

“And every other vegetable is seedless. It would be weird to single out the tomato as the only one with seeds, so by default, doesn’t that make the tomato a fruit?”

Despite having a pretty valid argument, it’s still stupid.

“ _Everything_ has seeds, Natsu how would farmers be able to plant more vegetables if they didn’t produce seeds?”

“Then let me rephrase it! Everything with BIG seeds is a fruit, and everything with SMALL ones are vegetables!” He argues, swatting some stray branches out of his path as he trumps his way through the forest.

“So you’re basically saying bananas are vegetables? Do you know how stupid that sounds?”

He starts laughing again, holding his side with one hand as he stumbles over a root but regains his footing.

I get the feeling he’s laughing at me, “What’s so funny, squinty-eyes?” I snap impatiently

“I was thinking…” He starts with and I roll my eyes.

“That never ends well…” I mutter, and he ignores my comment.

“Since you are so puny right now, that means you make micro seeds, so you’d be a vegetable! AHAHAHAHAHA!”

My jaw drops with astonishment and I blink owlishly in shock.

“Did you just make a dirty joke, Natsu!?”

“BWHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHEHEHEHE!!”

“STOP LAUGHING! IT WASN’T EVEN A GOOD JOKE!”

 

\---


	4. X791-Present-Just count to ten, it will be alright

**October, 7 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Natsu Dragneel**

 

After chowing down on some great food made by Mira I thanked her and paid the bill and headed out of the guild to go meet up with Gray by the river. I think about the talked I had with Lisanna on my way there. She was telling me all about a mission she wanted to go on but needed someone’s help with, she didn’t directly say so, but I could tell she was hinting at it. She’s a proud lady! She wants everyone to know she’s strong and capable! But I’m sure she knows her limits, and she’s too proud to ask her siblings for help, so this must be pretty tough for her!

 

…

_“Would you mind if I tagged along, Lisanna? Happy and I are running a bit short on funds lately!” I had asked her, knowing if I did it this way she wouldn’t feel bad about asking me to come._

_She had gotten so excited she could barely contain herself, her voice increased in pitch like it usually does when she gets hyped up, “Oh, Natsu! I’d love for you to come it’s been such a long time! You and Happy are always welcome to on missions with me!”_

_Happy was pretty thrilled about the idea of going on a mission with just the three of us; he had jumped right off my shoulder and into Lisanna’s waiting arms._

_“I’m gonna stay with Lisanna while you go talk to Graaay!” Happy says with a narrow eyed expression that annoys me to no ends. I roll my eyes at him and cross one of my legs over the other._

_“Don’t say it like that, Happy. You make it sound weird!” I mutter, scratching the side of my face._

_“Oh no, what’s going on..? Did something happen with you and Gray?” Lisanna asks with doe eyes and a big frown. I think in her mind she thinks Gray and I are as close as the whiny versions of us she knew in Edolas._

_“Nah, he just wants some advice, I think.” I try to shrug off the eerie grin Happy is sending my way, but I end up turning to him and glaring in return._

_“What?” I snort._

_“I don’t think you were paying close enough attention to what he and Juvia were saying, Natsu.” Happy says with that know-it-all tone he gets when he thinks he knows it all!_

_“What are you suggesting, Happy?” I ask, leaning my elbow against the bar top then popping my hand under my chin._

_“Juvia said he wanted to confess to someone he has feelings for!” Happy reminds me, not that I had forgotten. So what, big deal?_

_Lisanna suddenly gasps and clasps both her hands over her mouth, her eyes suddenly sparkling with an understanding that hasn’t clicked with me yet._

_“So..?” I ask, motioning my other hand for him to spill the beans already!_

_“He wants to talk to you privately, Natsu!” Happy elates, making a little heart by holding both his paws up in the shape, “He liiiiiiikes you!”_

_“Oh...”_

_It threw me off a little, but not much. I knew Gray had a crush on me when we were kids, it was obvious, that, and being a Dragon Slayer really helped read the signs. I can always hear the way heart always pounds annoyingly whenever it’s just the two of is, and I even tested it a few times with subtle things. Messing with Gray in that way used to be one of my favorite mind games to play, but when he stopped following me out on my missions I just figured that he got over his crush on me, and then when Juvia came along I thought he had developed feelings for her._

_“Does he really?” Lisanna asks with a shocked gasp at Happy’s claim._

_I know how Lisanna is, if she knew something like this about Gray the whole guild would surely find out pretty quick, and that would probably make the popsicle humiliated and never want to show his face in the guild hall again. As much as I like messing with that guy, I wouldn’t do anything like that and let rumors spread, it’s too cruel._

_“Nah, he doesn’t. As a Dragon Slayer I notice a lot of little things about people and their mannerisms! Don’t you think I would know by now if Gray had a thing for me? Don’t go around spreading rumors, Happy! Gray might just come put you in an iceberg!” I laugh it off, playfully ruffling Happy’s head, even he seemed to believe me, but he looked a little bummed out about it, but Lisanna’s face turned tomato red at my words._

_“A-ah, Natsu, is that really true!?” She asks with a nervous tremor. Her heart is thumping very loudly. Crap, I don’t want to embarrass her; I know she has feelings for me too, but I forgot all about it until now!_

_“Y-yeah, but only if I spar with them..! I have to be really in the zone to be able to tell! That’s how I know Gray isn’t into me; we fight so often it would be impossible for him to hide something like that!” It’s a big fat lie, I can smell the excitement radiating off of Levy all the way from here! She’s on the upper floor with Gajeel, and his is the first loudest pulse in this room, the second is Lisanna._

_Lisanna relaxes at that and her heart slows, she breathes a subtle sigh of relief and smiles at me widely now that she thinks her “secret” is still safe._

_“Who do you think Gray might have feelings for?” She asks._

_With a shrug of my shoulders I shoot her a smile and stand hop off the barstool, “Dunno! I’m about to find out though! I’ll be back later and then we can talk more about that mission, alright?” I say with a wave, she nods and wishes me luck on my way out the door._

 

…

 

It isn’t until I see Gray sitting by the river staring into the water that I realize what’s about to happen. My stomach knots up nervously and I tuck my chin and mouth into my scarf as I approach Gray. I don’t bother sitting down, but I stand beside him so he can see that I’m here.

I know Juvia is here, I know her scent, and I figure that she’s probably camouflaged in the water. I can’t speak my mind knowing she’s here, so I nudge Gray’s thigh with my boot and he looks up at me blankly.

“Hey, let’s talk and walk,” I say, turning on my heels and heading away from the river and towards the bridge. Gray is following close behind.

…

We walk in silence for a while, end up somewhere in the forest, I kept going until the only scents filling my nostrils were natural ones and Gray’s, and at that point I come to a stop and turn to him with my hands in my pockets, when he locks eyes with me his expression becomes nervous, he sees that I’m serious and it makes his pulse increase and he starts sweating more than he already was.

His scent reminds me of winter, frost mixed with pine, and mint, a lot of people give off gross smells, like how Gajeel reminds me of rusty pennies and burnt almonds, Wendy’s isn’t too bad, but it isn’t _good_ either. She smells _sterile,_ like freshly cleaned hospital equipment.

I know Gray realizes I _know_. He understands that I would never lead him so far away from others unless I wanted to talk seriously.

He’s the one that breaks the silence first, “So, Natsu… you…” And just like that, we’re kids again, back to that day where he could only get out one word at a time; it was endearing but also painful to listen to, so I interrupt him.

“I know.” I say, casually, kicking the toe of my boot against a rock peeking out of the dirt. His heart does that fluttery thing it used to when we were kids. _I wonder if he knows I have always been able to hear it_.

“Y-you… _do_?” He asks weakly, swallowing thickly afterwards, and what follows is a suffocating silence with me standing still, staring at the ground while rolling the lint in my pockets into little balls.

My chest squeezes painfully as I listen to the thrumming of his erratic heart. He’s so terrified about what I’ll say next, I only wish it could be easier.

 

…

 

“Focus on Juvia.” I finally say, quiet, but loud enough for him to hear it with how far apart we are.

 

\---

**October, 7 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Gray Fullbuster**

       

I forgot how to breathe for a minute or so, my face around my eyes is starting to get prickly with warmness the way it usually does when I feel like I’m about to become emotional. I can’t find my voice; I think I left it by the river, along with my stomach.

I stood there mute as Natsu continued on, “She’ll be a good wife to you someday. She’s a great person.”

_Stop talking like this, Natsu… does he understand that I love him? Or does he still think this is a confession about someone else? What he said earlier makes he think he knows._

“I’ve always known how you felt, Gray… and, I’m real sorry man, but… I can’t do it. It’s not, _you_ , it’s _me_ , there isn’t anything wrong with you, Gray, so don’t blame yourself. You’re a great guy…”

My vision is getting distorted, _I can’t do this now! I can’t cry! How pathetic!_ I hold it in—hold my breath, count to ten.

_One, two… t-three…_

“I just don’t see you that way.” Natsu says with a casual shrug of his shoulders.

_Four, five, six…_

“I know that it is rough now, Buddy, but you’re tough as hell! So don’t be upset, especially not over me, Gray, this isn’t the worst thing that’s ever happened to you, remember that,”

Six, s-…. Ss-…

“See yah later, droopy-eyes!” Natsu says in that care-free tone of his as he turns his back to me and waves as he goes.

_S-seven…_

I watch him until he’s only a speck in a distance, and until then I say frozen in my count on eight, and when I can’t see him anymore, I skip nine and fall straight to my knees, burying my hands in my hair and choking back a silent sob.

_This isn’t real…_

I bite my lip as a quiet sob creeps its way up the back of my throat, a thick, uncomfortable lump, hard to swallow around. I hug myself tightly and try to reel all these feelings back inside, but the more I hold it in, the more painful that lump gets and the more my chest aches.

\---

**October, 7 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Juvia Lockser**

 

I followed Natsu and Gray to the best of my ability without being too conspicuous, I kept low and stayed out of the dragon slayer’s range of scent. It was a strain to hear and see, but I understood everything that went on between them.

Natsu had callously rejected my darling Gray; I don’t even try to hide myself when I spot Natsu heading my way. I stand firm and tall, and he glances at me once before looking at the ground and going right past me without a single word. This is not what I expected from Natsu! To disregard Gray’s feelings as if he were just telling a child who lost his toy to get a new one..! I didn’t even know he could be so cold and cruel!

I rush to Gray’s side after glaring after Natsu until I couldn’t see his terrible self anymore!

Without a flicker of hesitation I fall to my knees beside Gray and throw my arms around him, and he takes to me instantly, wrapping his arms around me and crumbling against my collarbone.

“G-Gray I’m so sorry for suggesting you do this! It was poor judgement on my part, I am to blame for the pain you feel right now! I didn’t think it would happen that way, I am terribly sorry, _I’m sorry_ …”

“I-it’s not your fault…” Gray manages to tell me, and my heart aches with him. Even though his words dismiss me of fault I know this is all my doing. If only I hadn’t pushed him earlier today to do this. How will he ever forgive me? What can I do? What should I do?

I need to fix what I did! I have to make this right. Gray’s heart belongs to Natsu, and despite how much I despise that dragon slayer right now, he’s the one that my Gray wants. _I promise you Gray, I will fix this, I swear I’ll fix your broken heart_.

\---

**October, 7 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Gajeel Redfox**

       

I’ve always had the same favorite pastimes. Sleeping, eating, kicking ass, and jerking off. Blunt, crude, but that’s the way I like it. Take modesty out in public and fuck it right in the ass. Although, since joining Fairytail I’ve added another pastime to the list—actually it’s more of a hobby really, I enjoy it the most out of everything else I do. Watching Levy, that’s just it. Doesn’t matter what that shrimp is doing, if my eyes are on her then I am loving every second of it. I feel like I learn at least one new thing about her every day. Every little piece of knowledge I acquire from her is worth more than all the iron in the world. I cherish every little quirk, _every_ mannerism from the way she’ll cover her mouth (even when she’s chewing a gumball sized mouthful) to respond to someone or to laugh, to the way she wakes up in the morning like a hamster on drugs, babbling a million words per second. Even though its crazy gibberish to a morning slug such as myself, I still love the sound of it. To me, that insane hamster yammering is better than waking up to the chirping of birds.

So you can understand my anger, that when my sweet Levy was attentively reading the cover of a book she was thinking about purchasing from a downtown kiosk, Natsu The Barbarian comes stomping through the crowd, foaming from the mouth comes spazzing down the street and SHOVES that sweet girl so hard she falls into the book stand and said bookstand collapses on top of her—and if it weren’t for my fast reflexes, she probably would have gotten really hurt! But fortunately I shielded her with my body at the last second!

Pulling myself out of the disheveled book pile, I growl deeply in my throat, Levy looks just as pissed off as I do. I have two priorities right now, number one, ensure Levy is unharmed and safe. I do so, taking her delicate hands and pulling her to her feet, and now number to, pound Natsu Dragneel’s face in until he gets on his knees and apologizes to my girl!

I open my mouth to yell at the back of the storming off pinkette but to my surprise, Levy steps out in front of me, hands cupped over her mouth and she shouts; “HEY NATSU… THAT WAS’NT COOL MAN..!”

But that trashy little freak keeps stomping away! _I ought to shove an iron pole up his ass_!

I move to go after him but the gentle touch to my shoulder instantly stops me and I look down at Levy, she shakes her head and sighs, “Just leave it, Natsu isn’t usually rude like that so he’s obviously dealing with something pretty major, I’ll ream him for this later! He’ll owe me BIG time! So don’t worry about it, okay?” Levy assures me with a smile that melts away my anger (for now at least.)

“Whatever you say…” I grumble, reaching down to take her hand in mine with a protective squeeze.

“Come on, Gajeel, lets help the shop owner pick up this mess, it wouldn’t be very nice at all if we just left him to deal with this by himself.” Levy says as she tugs me back to the mess _Natsu_ made. _Should be that little wretch pickin’ all this shit up. I’ll get him for this._

        ---

**October, 7 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Natsu Dragneel**

 

        _Damn it, Gray! Damn you! You dumb bastard you KNOW I hate change! Why did he have to go and do this to me?!_ I need to get—I don’t know! SOMEWHERE! I need to get out! Just _OUT!_ THAT wasn’t how I expected things to go down between Gray and I! Not at all! I was waiting and hoping that droopy-eyed bastard would deny having feelings for me and… and or… or maybe just, I just wanted to make him mad, we could have just fought and everything would have stayed the same, but he forced me to say all… ALL OF THAT! I HAD to say it! Things between us can’t change! They can’t ever change!

My mind betrays me and the memory of Gray’s teary eyes pops back into my mind like an unwanted advertisement! _Stop it BRAIN!_

What’s going to happen now? What if I go back and tell Gray I was kidding about knowing and… NO! It wouldn’t work! How will things be between us? Will we talk anymore or will Gray avoid me because I broke his heart? Does this mean we have to split the team in half?

“I CAN’T HANDLE THIS!” I shout aloud as I drop to my hands and knees in the middle of the street, and I don’t even know exactly where I am or who is around me but I don’t care, I can barely breathe, every breath is a struggle to take in and I feel like the world is closing in around me despite being outside in the wide and open.

“N-Natsu..?”

My head is spinning! Why can’t I breathe?!

“Natsu… Natsu! Hey!” –Wait I know that voice! It’s Lucy! I feel her hand on my back before I see her. No! She can’t see me weak like this! I shrug her hand off my shoulder and turn my face into my shoulder in an attempt to hide it.

“Natsu… what’s wrong? Hey, it’s okay… come on, let’s get inside, are you hungry or something? I’ll make you something to eat, okay?” Lucy says as she touches my back again, and I flinch at the contact, squeezing my eyes shut and shaking my head back and forth, not trusting my voice.

She grabs my arm and pulls me up, and in my current state I can’t fight her, so she drags me along like a pathetic sack of potatoes!

 

…

 

Lucy’s idea of _making me something to eat_ is opening a bag of chips and setting them in front of me at her table, but I don’t care, not right now at least, I’m still breathing irregularly and my entire body is shaking. _Why do I have to be so weak? I can’t even control my own emotions_.

“What’s going on?” Lucy asks gently as she pulls a chair up in front of me and sits. The look on her face makes me feel terrible. _She knows I’m weak_.

“Nothin’...” I spit out, crossing my arms over my chest and staring off towards her front door.

“I’m not buying that.” She responds dryly.

“It doesn’t matter, let’s just forget this happened.” I snap back at her as I try to stand up and leave but she gets up just as fast and catches me by the wrist.

“What are you thinking right now, Natsu? Why are you acting so bitter? This isn’t like you at all.” Lucy’s grip doesn’t loosen in the slightest.

I don’t respond. I have nothing to say.

“What I just saw wasn’t just _nothing_ , Natsu! Something _is_ bothering you!” She states, sounding sad, but also angry.

“We’re friends, aren’t we? I’m not going to force you to tell me what’s bothering you, Natsu, but I want you to listen to me right now and listen good. I know you might think it’s weak to talk about how you’re feeling, but it _isn’t_ , and I’m _here_ for you, whatever you need and I won’t judge you, not ever. No matter what you could say, nothing will change between us, got that? You can trust in me.” After saying that, Lucy lets go of me, and in the same instant my chest swells up.

What Lucy said… means a lot to me, truly, and I _do_ appreciate it, but I walk out her front door without word.

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scenes in this chapter are a little short, I'm sorry about that, progressively they WILL get much longer I promise, and slowly it'll explain more as it goes on. And if you don't like the perspective swapping I'm sorry about that too! please let me know if weird to you guys.


	5. X791-Present-Natsu's favorite game

**October, 10 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

        I haven’t really gotten out of bed since Juvia helped me get home, unless it’s to go to the bathroom of course. She has tried to get me to go to the guild twice but both times I shot her down and she didn’t try to persuade me further. Right now we’re both in my dark room and I’m using her as a security blanket. I feel like, as long as I’m holding onto Juvia I’m allowed to be weak and let all these emotions inside me go, and right now I feel like I _really_ need to do that because every time I try to keep it in, it makes me feel sick to my stomach.

Damn, I just never thought Natsu’s rejection would affect me this much. Sometimes I’d imagine what it would be like and how I would feel but imagination is _so_ much nicer than reality. I mean, even in the WORST outcomes of my thoughts of how Natsu would reject me, not once did I ever cry like I did. I was really blubbering mess, and I still am. I keep trying to force it all back inside like I usually do about stuff, but as soon as Juvia comes around me everything just sort of spills out. I feel so guilty for unloading all my emotional baggage onto her, but she makes it so easy, like… I feel genuinely comfortable talking to her about stuff and it’s actually really _nice_. The only other person I have anything similar to this with is—Natsu.

“Something on your mind..?” Juvia asks gently while stroking her fingers back through my hair.

“Y-yeah…” I admit quietly before separating from her to sit up, she remains on her side, propped on her elbow and watching me carefully.

“It’s just… Natsu… he used to be the one there for me whenever I felt… you know… down, or anything… and he’d cheer me up, I mean, not as well as you do, but, he had his own way of showing he cared. Of course all his remedies for _the blues_ had to do with getting angry and _going out to punch something_.” As I’m talking I notice Juvia’s expression. She doesn’t seem too thrilled when I mentioned Natsu’s name. It’s the look in her eye she usually gets when she’s in battle; I’d recognize it anywhere; that means she must really hate him right now.

“That’s a very unhealthy way for anyone to deal with their feelings.” She states coolly as she smoothens down the wrinkles in the sheet with her fingers.

“Y…yeah… I guess so…” I agree sheepishly.

“What is it about Natsu that you love so much?” She asks, her eyes flickering from the sheets to meet my own.

“Honestly, it’s hard to pick just one thing— I mean… at least I know the _first_ thing I loved about him…” I say as I rub my bare shoulder awkwardly. This is weird, even with Juvia; I’ve never talked about _Natsu stuff_ before, _ever_.

“And what was that?” She pries.

“His eyes…” I feel the confession slip out just as I daze out with the mental image of his joyful expression. His eyes are always the brightest when he’s happy.

“So why do you make fun of them on a daily basis, I hear you and Natsu insult each other’s eyes at least four times a day…?” Juvia inquires with a small smile playing out on her lips.

“Well, you know how usually Natsu has REALLY big eyes when he’s all casual? Well, have you ever actually taken the time to look at him when he’s angry? It’s like, some invisible entity follows him around squirting lemon juice in them!” I can’t fight back the small smirk that tugs at my lips at the thought.

“I’ve never thought about it like that before, but now that you mention it, it does make a lot of sense… but I don’t get why he calls you _droopy_ eyes, they look perfectly normal to me.” Juvia points out with a casual shrug of her shoulders.

“Beats me,” I say with a shake of my head.

\---

**October, 10 th, X791**

**Fiore, Mt. Hakobe**

**Natsu Dragneel**

 

I decided after my encounter with Lucy that I needed to get out of town for a while as soon as possible, so I went to the guild and found Lisanna and Happy and went out on that quest she had been talking about that same night. I’m thankful that it isn’t too easy, we’re supposed to gather ingredients that are needed for a healer to cure a pretty nasty plague that’s been sweeping across Fiore.

“Natsu..! Happy and I are going to look over here for the sage roots!” Lisanna calls out to me as she points in the opposite direction I was going.

“Alright! I’ll check over here!” I tell her, having to raise my voice slightly for her to hear it over this damn storm.

“Kay!”

…

I have to admit, I could find all the ingredients in one day just by sniffing them out, but I’d like for this mission to take as long as possible. My hopes are that by the time we get back to Magnolia everything with Gray and I will be back to normal and we can just pretend what happened _didn’t_.

Still… this cold, it reminds me of Gray and makes me wonder how he’s handling my rejection. I feel like this is my entire fault. Any suffering he’s going through right now is because of me, I take responsibility. Maybe if I hadn’t played those dumb games of mine with Gray when we were younger, he would have gotten over his crush and moved on to someone else.

After getting a decent enough distance away from Lisanna and Happy I plop down in the snow against a large bolder and sink down, covering my face with my bare hands. _No one knows what a terrible person I really am inside_.

I squeeze my eyes shut as the cold wind and snow mix brush against my cheeks. My mind drifts off to a time when Gray and I were young teens while I sit there in frigid snow.

 

…

_Gray and I were getting back from our separate missions at the same time, I knew this wasn’t just coincidence anymore, I am fully aware of the fact that Gray takes his own missions close to mine just so he can make sure I don’t mess up, he’s too obvious. Honestly, how many times does he think we can “accidentally” run into each other in the same town at the same train station?_

_Back then my stomach wasn’t as bad as it would be in the future, so keeping the window down with a constant flow of fresh air helped to ease my stomach during the ride and let me travel somewhat comfortably, but it also meant I had a lot of free time on my hands._

_Staring out at the clear and star filled night sky and the scenery as the train zoomed on by didn’t keep my interest for very long._

_Since we are both going to the same place, and this is going to be a long and expensive ride, Gray and I decided to split the expense and share a “room,” or whatever these tiny closets with seats are._

_He’s occupying the bench across from me, fully clothed for once in his jacket and everything; his shoes are even neatly tied. He’s got his elbow propped up on the window and his chin resting against his palm as he stares out towards the sky with a vacant expression, he must be day dreaming again. I’ve been around him long enough to know that he tends to slip away into another world I know nothing about when things get quiet. I’ve always been curious about it. Was he thinking about his past? Or maybe his mind was more creative than that, maybe he’s even making up a whole story, a little theater just going on in his head, I know I do that, at least when I’m going to sleep I do._

_The light in our “room” is off, neither of us are bothered by sitting in the moonlight and we are both bound to fall asleep at some point so turning it on would only be a waste of electricity._

_Staring at Gray’s long eyelashes flutter each time he blinks isn’t exactly what I’d call five star entertainment so I decide to play my favorite game. How many colors can I make Gray’s face turn before he gets mad?_

_I begin with something simple and subtle, extending my right foot just so the tip of my shoe brushes his. He doesn’t notice._

_I try brushing the heel of my shoe against his ankle, but still nothing._

_I need to get more creative… what can I do? Hmm, let’s see._

_…_

_I got it!_

_“Hey Gray, can we switch seats?” I ask, watching in motion as he comes back into reality and has to really focus to recall what I just said, when it registers he scowls at me._

_“What’s wrong with yours?” He asks sourly, dropping his elbow from the window ceil to let his arm lie limply at his side._

_“My stomach is feeling bad; I think it’ll feel better if I were over there…” I say, using the best impression of my sick-self that I had._

_He’s standing up, it worked!_

_I bite my inner cheek to keep myself from smiling as I stand up and “stumble” into Gray’s chest with a “sick” groan._

_“Geeze, Natsu, be careful.” Gray grumbles as he tries to move away from me, but I wrap my arms around his shoulders and lock on, making the most convincing sick grumbling noises I could._

_“What’s the deal? Get off flame-brain!” Gray grouses as he attempts to get away but I let my body go limp as a noodle while clinging to his shoulders._

_“I don’t feel well…” I groan, but afterwards I press my face against his shoulder and try to smother my grin against his jacket before making my next move. A moan that isn’t at all sickly, but he doesn’t know that, followed by the weak calling of his name._

_“Nmm… Gray…” I have to bite my tongue to keep myself under control. His heart is so loud; it reminds me of a drill beating against cement._

_“P-please don’t get sick on me…” He says, patting my back awkwardly. I’m sure he doesn’t know whether or not to hold me or push me away, he must be torn!_

_“Your coldness seems to be making me a little better… maybe you should make me a Popsicle…” I suggest, sliding my hands up further to be closer to the back of Gray’s neck and gently scratch just below his hairline with my fingernails. In reaction he raises his shoulder and squirms, reminding me of a turtle trying to recede into his shell._

_“H-Hey stop! What are you even saying? You want to EAT my ice? Th-that’s weird, Natsu..!” He says with an edge to his voice that tells me he’s starting to get flustered._

_I know I can be clueless, but I am not so naïve that I don’t realize consuming someone else’s magic can be a pretty intimate thing. But Gray doesn’t know that I know that._

_I let my hands slide down from his shoulders to his forearms, never once letting a single fingertip leave his person while I pulled away to look up at him with a pouty lip; “Would you rather I get sick all over the place? I think it will help a ton, pleeeeaseee, Gray?” I whine with my best impression of a needy little puppy. Gray has never been able to say no to me yet when I give him this look._

_“Tch... Fine already..! If it will get you to shut up..!” Gray grumbles as he shrugs my hands off to free his arms so he can use his ice-make magic. Fist to palm, he summons frost from out of nowhere and poof, there it is in his hand, a perfectly sculpted Popsicle and he holds it out for me to take while dropping his other hand to his side._

_I play innocent, I wanna see how much I can get away with before he freaks out, so I grasp his hand instead and bring it a little closer so I can lean my head forward and take a small lick of the ice, then another. It’s actually way better than I thought it would taste. I just assumed since he made ice, it would taste like frozen water, but no, this has a hint of sweetness that I can’t place. Maybe I should have him make me Popsicles more often… although, he probably won’t after this, too bad._

_I let the melted bits dribble down my chin carelessly as I slide my lips and tongue around every inch of the treat that I could, very aware of pair of droopy eyes watching every move I made._

_I guess my mouth is pretty hot because the Popsicle melts half way down to a fraction of a size it once was. For a moment I can't help myself and my eyes flicker up to meet his gaze just as I'm dragging my lips across the dripping tip, and just when I was starting to wonder how much more Gray could take, he drops it, and I expected many things to happen next, for example, him to get flustered and pout for the rest of the ride; I did not foresee the outcome of what came next._

_Very roughly, Gray grabs me and pushes me back against the door with both his hands cupping my face and his lips just a breath away from mine; so close that just one syllable spoken between either of us would cause them to brush. I sense his last minutes hesitation, his fingers loosening their hold on me but he hasn't quite pulled away yet._

_I don’t move or react; I stare into his half-lidded eyes and arch my brow, just daring him to do it. In the moment, I didn’t realize we had crossed into a very dangerous territory, but back then I didn’t care, I was doing it to drive Gray crazy, it was just a game to me, so I stole his first kiss then and gave mine away carelessly. It all happened so fast though, just when he was about to pull away and probably apologize for his behavior or make up some excuse for it, I grab the front of his jacket and yank him those few centimeters back and crash my cold, tingly lips against his much warmer ones. I made sure to lightly nip his bottom lip before pulling away from him._

_“… D…Did that really just happen?” Gray asks me after I had let go of him._

_I blink up at him with confusion and a slight tilt of my head, “Did what happen?” I parrot back._

_“We… d-didn’t we, um, kiss just now?” He asks, looking so painfully confused, and I mimic his expression._

_“What are you talking about..? Are you okay, Gray? You’ve been kind of standing there spacing out for a while…” I ask, sounding genuinely concerned. At the mention of spacing out Gray gets a panicked look on his face and I can practically smell the anxiety and fear radiating off of him._

_“Are you messing with me, Natsu?” He asks, a little frantic as his hand darts up and his fingers press against his bottom lip. His brows draw together so closely I was pretty sure they just might fuse together!_

_"I think you're the one messing around here!"  
_

…

 

Coming out of the memory I feel my guts twist with guilt and regret. It might have seemed like a harmless prank at the time, but I genuinely convinced Gray that we had never kissed and he had just been standing there spacing out the whole time.

He started day dreaming less and less, and with nothing to occupy his mind he picked up the filthy habit of smoking. I didn’t know until later that Gray used to day dream about all types of crazy and fantastic things that I would have loved to hear more of, I found out when I discovered him lighting up that when he was younger he wanted to become a writer just like his mom. Hearing him say that left a tear in me somewhere that hasn’t healed yet. He would turn to his fantasies when he’s stressed, but because of me he felt afraid of them, he told me he believed he was starting to go crazy and he wanted to get his head back into reality.

It was just small instances like that have had big outcomes on how Gray is now. I always knew he saw me in a different type of lighting as everyone else. Without his parents or Ur, he needed a new role model, and somehow he chose me. I never miss the look of admiration and pride in his eyes after I complete a mission, beat a foe, or just stand up for someone who needs help. But I’m not the iconic good guy he believes.

It’s all a lie, I’m impulsive, violent and careless. Whenever I go on missions I know my priority should be the citizens, but all I want is to fight, I want something to kill, test my strength against, and in the heat of battle I don’t care who is in my way or what I’m destroying. I was made to kill. Someone depraved like me doesn’t deserve to be happy.

I bite my lip hard and fall over in the snow, fisting my hands in my hair as my stomach continues to twist and turn in ways worse than it does when I'm on a transportation. _Why did I do that to him?_  

\---

**October, 11 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Juvia Lockser**

 

Natsu doesn’t deserve Gray. I strongly believe this, but I made a promise to him and I refuse to let him down. With that in mind, I left Gray at his home and headed into the guild with one goal in mind.

No one at the guild suspects anything is going on. When people started asking where Gray had gone a few days ago, I assured them he was fine, but resting in bed with the flu.

I was a little thrown off to see the objective of my visit being crowded by a certain blonde celestial mage; it was very off putting to see the two interacting, considering their history. I am not sure Lucy honestly fully forgives Gajeel for the way he treated her despite what she says. This is the only time I’ve seen them genuinely talk since then actually. What could they have to talk about?

“So you don’t think he could be sick..?” Lucy asks with a deflated sigh, and Gajeel grunts at her in response.

“Dragon Slayers don’t get sick easily, so no, why do you ask? Is it because he acted like a complete behemoth a few days ago then vanished up onto the mountains with his wife and child so he didn’t have to face his punishment? That brat is at number ONE on my shit list.” Gajeel asks as he cracks his knuckles with a murderous glint in his eye that causes Lucy to recoil.

“Uh… what do you mean? Did he challenge you to a fight or something?” She asks nervously, crossing her arms uncomfortably in Gajeel’s presence.

“Nah, much worse… that idiot assaulted poor little Levy, he practically threw her into a dumpster!”

I gasp upon hearing this news! This is truly horrific! Levy is one of the gentlest souls in our guild! Slowly but surely Natsu is making his way to the top of my own shit list!

“No way… Natsu wouldn’t do something like that..!” Lucy gapes.

I approach them, “I’m sorry to interrupt you, Lucy, but I need to borrow Gajeel.” I explain, reaching out and grabbing he Iron Dragon Slayer by the arm before pulling him with me towards the exit of the guild hall.

Once outside he turns to me and folds his arms over his chest, wordlessly conveying for me to tell him what I need to so he can get back to whatever it was he was doing before.

“I need your help with something, old friend.” I begin gravely, his eyes spark with interest and he shifts his weight from one foot to the other.

“Need someone flattened?” he asks, and I shake my head once.

“Then what’s up?”

“I need to know how a Dragon Slayer’s emotions work and how I can bend them to my whim.” I explain coolly, and he grins, chuckling softly.

“Oh? Why would you need to do a thing like that? Who pissed _you_ off?” Gajeel cackles mirthfully as he unfolds his arms and lets them hang by his sides instead.

“Before I can relay that information, you must swear on the honor of our friendship that you will keep what I am about to tell you a secret between us, understood?”

With a huge smirk Gajeel gestures ahead of us as he asks, “Consider it done, shall we walk and talk then?”

I take the lead, walking past him with my heels clicking against the cement as I go, “Gladly,” I say, hearing his heavy footfall close behind.

 

…

 

After telling Gajeel everything that has transpired recently without leaving out a single detail, he nods at me thoughtfully as he scratches his chin. The two of us end up on the block where Gray’s apartment is located, the long stroll we took and me explaining things lasted until dusk. (I can’t help but be vivid)

“I hate to break it to yah, but you can’t manipulate a Dragon Slayer. It’s kind of _our_ thing.” Gajeel says with a huff as he gently rolled his neck, the sound of his joints popping makes me wince. I really do not like that sound.

“So is here nothing I can do to make him return Gray’s feelings?” I ask sadly, staring at my feet as we walked.

“Afraid not… You’re shit out of luck on this one, Juvia. Or you know, I could pound his face in until it’s so ugly that Gray just falls out of love with him… huh? What do you think? Good plan right?”

I sigh and shake my head. _Oh Gajeel… I know you mean well…_

Gajeel holds his hand out in front of me and stops me suddenly; I look up at him to find him sniffing the air, breathing in deeply through his nose with a concentrated look on his face.

I press my lips together in a thin line, waiting patiently for him to tell me what’s going on, but he’s just taking too long, “What is it?” I ask.

“Salamander is here.”

 

\---


	6. X791-Present-Where Natsu discovers he's a little bit of an overthinker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the first few chapters being so angsty but I promise it'll get sillier from here on out (with maybe more angst in the future)

**October, 11 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Earlier**

**Natsu Dragneel**

 

By mid-morning Lisanna and I found the last two ingredients buried deep beneath the snow and dug them out. I was disappointed that this mission didn’t take as long as I hoped it would, but what can I do? Throw the basket of ingredients off the side of the mountain and say _the wind took it_?

With a quiet sigh I followed behind Lisanna and Happy down the mountain path. One good thing came out of this, the two of them seem to be having a really great time, and I’m glad for it; at least nothing’s changed there.

The scenery is so beautiful from up here. Tall mountain peaks stretching on in the distance behind me and below the blurry town just keeps getting closer and closer the more we walk. Part of me wishes I could turn around and get lost in the mountains instead of going back home.

I readjust the straps of the heavy pack weighing down on my back as I turn my eyes back forward, watching as Lisanna and Happy laughed and goofed around a sizeable distance ahead of me.

I shove my hands into my pockets and burry my nose into my scarf. _If only that would work… life as a mountain man doesn’t sound too bad._

…

“Natsu… are you feeling okay?” Lisanna asks, startling me out of my thoughts, when did I catch up to her and Happy? Or did they wait for me?

“Yeah, I’m… just a little hungry.” I confess, forcing a soft smile to let her know she doesn’t need to worry about me.

“We just ate a big breakfast before packing up camp though..!” Happy pipes up as he climbs up onto my shoulders and ruffles my hair, “You’ve been down in the dumps this whole trip, is something bothering you, Natsu?” Happy asks in that sad whining tone that fills me to the brim with guilt. I really should have tried harder to focus on the _here_ and _now_ so these two wouldn’t be so concerned for me.

“Are you _sure_? You haven’t been the same since you had that talk with Gray, and speaking of, you never told me what happened…” Lisanna says with a bit of suspicion in her voice.

I force a laugh and wave my hand at them in dismissal, “You guys! I’m fine! You’re worrying over nothing!”

“That isn’t true… I’ve known you my whole life, you only get distant like this when you’re upset…” Happy tells me as he rubs the tips of each of my ears with his paws, it’s supposed to be comforting, I think.

“Yeah, I agree. Please tell us,” Lisanna pleas, reaching out to touch my arm as we walk, but I shrug it off abruptly.

“We’re your friends, Natsu, we are here for you!” Happy reminds me as he ruffles my hair some more.

I blow air out through my teeth in frustration and grab him from my shoulders and set him on Lisanna’s head before turning away from them, _I need to get out of here, I need to run, I just… I have to be alone!_

I shuck my backpack off my shoulders and don’t even wait for it to drop into the snow before I’m running, ignoring as the two of them call after me urgently.

“Gah!” I choke as something tugs on the back of my scarf so hard it nearly strangles me and I fall back into the snow, and the next thing I know Lisanna is on top of me holding both of my wrists in a vice grip and Happy is on my leg, squeezing it tight like somehow _that_ will keep me down.

“Oh no, Mister..! You aren’t going anywhere! Talk now or you’ll force me to do something I REALLY don’t want to do, Natsu!”

L-Lisanna is serious…

I swallow hard and pale as she stares at me with a steely gaze that reminds me too much of her sister’s.

I press my lips together tight and shake my head. I know Lisanna can’t really hurt me; I could just shove her off and run if I needed to, but I don’t want to hurt her.

“That’s it! You asked for this!” Lisanna shifts around, pinning my wrists beneath her knees before she uses her now free hands to scoops up snow, with her other gloved hand she packs it down, then, the little brat shoves it in my face!

“Hey!” I call out, spitting the icy dust out of my mouth. _Who knows where it’s been!_

“Have some more!” Lisanna insists as she shoves a second handful into my face.

I growl and twist around until I free my hands so I can push her off of me, she falls back into the snow with a startled yell as I’m turning onto my stomach and crawling onto my hands and knees.

“We’re not done here yet!” She calls out stubbornly, then jumps onto my back but I don’t collapse. She’s really light as a feather.

She locks her arms around her legs around my waist, pressing her face against the back of my shoulder, “I am not gonna let go, Natsu!” She promises me with determination.

“Tickle, tickle…” Happy says from below me and suddenly I feel a set of furry paws sliding up my shirt and wiggling against my sides.

“P…Pff…Pfft….!” I squirm, trying to get away but with Lisanna on my back if I fall over I might crush her.

“S-… stop it, Hap-Happy! Pf…Pft---BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

I keep laughing even after Happy stops tickling me, and long after Lisanna let’s go and climbs off of me. I feel like my sanity has long left me, my laughter brings hot tears that roll down my cheeks and not long after my laughing ceases all my emotions swell up and the sounds I make turn from mirth to sorrow and my chest contracts painfully around my gut wrenching sobs, and I can’t stop it, all I can do is let it out as Lisanna pulls me into her arms and Happy rests on my back, rubbing my shoulders thoughtfully.

That dam I built around myself has burst open, and with it my ability to hold anything inside, confessions come tumbling out of my mouth between gross choking and sobbing noises mixed together.

“G-Gray’s in love with me..! H-he’s… he’s always been and I’ve… always known, and I’m such a terrible person, I used to-…to.. I would play mind games with him and m-….” My throat swells up and I have to wait for a few more sobs to make their way out before I can speak again, “I wo-would make him feel crazy… I…rejected him and… and I told him to go be with Juvia and not be such a cry baby… I was so… s-so! H-he’s the ice mage but _I’m_ the cold one!”

Lisanna wraps her arms around my neck tightly and nuzzles her cheek against my head, humming softly and waiting for me to settle down before speaking; “Oh, Natsu… you aren’t a terrible person… if you were, you wouldn’t feel guilty about bad things you’ve done, but right now shows me you do, so you aren’t terrible, not in the slightest… I’m sure Gray will forgive you if you confess to what you did in the past and apologize properly for it, and maybe it will even make you feel better…” She suggests while strumming her fingers against the back of my neck with gentle reassurance.

“How could he ever forgive me for playing around with his mind and heart for all these years?” I ask quietly.

“Well… think about it for a second, Natsu, how many people have you done that to?” She asks me softly.

I shake my head, “J-just Gray…”

She hums in response then is quiet for a few moments, “And what _kind_ of things would you do to mess with his mind?”

In my current self-loathing state I carelessly let slip things I never wanted anyone to ever hear.

“I would do flirty things and make it seem like I didn’t realize I was being that way just to get his attention…” As soon as that confession leaves my lips I swallow hard, and at Happy’s loud groan my shoulder’s tense up. _He must be so ashamed of me now!_

“That’s called being coy you dummy! It’s a flirting tactic! There isn’t anything wrong with it! Oh, Natsu, you disappoint me, I thought for sure you were going to say something more scandalous than THAT!” Happy tells me loudly before slapping the back of my head and hopping off of me.

I pull away from Lisanna and stare at her with wide eyes. Her tense browed stare and tight lips tell me that she’s annoyed, “Happy is right, Natsu.” She states plainly.

“I don’t believe this!” I shout, balling my hands into fists. _Are they trying to tell me I’m beating myself up for no reason? But I felt like I was doing a naughty thing back then, it felt bad, I was just leading him on, and these two are telling me that it was all ok that I did that? They must be lying to try to make me feel better! This has to be a terrible thing to do to someone!_

“You’re making yourself upset for no reason. _I_ do that sometimes too!” Lisanna’s confession has me breathless for a few seconds, and a little disorientated.

“… Y-you what…?” My voice is barely louder than a mouse’s squeak.

“Sometimes I think guys are cute, and okay, some _girls_ and I want to test the waters with them you know? I don’t want to seem too trashy like I’m eager for anything serious, so I pretend that I don’t know I’m flirting! But I do it to see how the other person reacts, if they get too into it and start coming back onto me strong then I know they aren’t the type I should be mingling with! Besides, it is fun sometimes and it’s nice to feel desirable!” Lisanna explains with a huge grin; then she grasps my hand tightly in both of hers and looks me straight in the eyes with a more serious expression; “You shouldn’t feel bad about teasing Gray when you guys were younger, it’s perfectly natural, silly!”

What Lisanna said _actually_ eased up some of the guilt I was feeling. So all this time, what I was doing is actually a _thing_ normal people do? Who would have thought… and here I was feeling like garbage for it! I haven’t felt this embarrassed since Erza walked in on me masturbating when I was a teenager.

“You liiiiiiiiiiiike him!” Happy purrs from beside me.

My face turns red with _anger_ and I quickly defuse his statement with a quick two words, “DO NOT!”

“Um… Natsu… I’m pretty sure you _do_!” Lisanna giggles in front of me with her hand over her mouth.

“LIES..!”

Lisanna rolls her eyes and asks, “Then why did you tell him to go be with someone you _know_ he doesn’t like that way?”

“You _loooove_ Gray, you want to _hoooold_ him, you want to _kiiiiiss him~!_ ” Happy sings as he flies around our heads in circles.

Happy’s terrible song takes my mind back to the kiss I shared with Gray on the train and the tip of my ears start to burn. It must be frost bite. _What is Happy saying?! Is he accusin’ me of all that stuff!_

“CUT IT OUT, HAPPY I DID NOT KISS GRAY!” I deny it! I’ll deny it until I’m dead!

Happy stops flying and turns to me with both paws on his cheeks with his jaw dropped.

_Wh… why is he looking at me like that?_

“You are pretty hard of hearing for a Dragon Slayer! That isn’t what I said! You must be keeping _seeeeecrets_ ~!”

“I’m not hidin’ anything!” I snap with fire burning up in the back of my throat. I fold my arms over my chest tightly and turn my head away from the two of them as my cheeks continue to burn _. This damn snow is giving me frost bite!_

“Why so red, Natsu..?” Lisanna asks teasingly, then gasps, I hear her hands clasp together before she squeals loud enough to make me flinch, “YOU’VE KISSED HIM, HAVEN’T YOU?!”

“NU-UH..!”

“You’re a terrible liar! Why do you even TRY?” Happy falls on his butt in this snow and howls with laughter, rolling around and kicking his legs.

I grab a handful of snow and pack it down in my hand before chucking it over at his big blue head!

 _Splat_! Right between the eyes!

Happy sits there, stunned for a moment before he sits up, then he has the gull to GRIN at me, then he points to his face and asks me, “Is this what you did to Gray’s face after that kiss?”

He’s insinuating that I…! I- I can’t believe this! I throw more snow balls in a flustered frenzy, one after another until he’s practically buried by snow.

“I WAS ONLY FOURTEEN AND IT WAS JUST ONE KISS AND NOTHING HAPPENED AFTER YOU DIRTY LITTLE PERV! HOW DARE YOU SUGGEST I WOULD DO SOMETHING SO DEPRAVED..!”

“So you _did_ kiss Gray after all!” Lisanna cheers gleefully.

At that moment my entire body drained of color and my every muscle in my body ceased functioning.

 

 

 

 

 

…

One small gust of wind gently breezes past us, stirring up the top dusting of snow and ruffling through our hair.

…

 

Happy suddenly emerges from the small snow dune I had buried him under and bursts up into the air, dancing around and singing a new tune with passion, “NATSU AND GRAAAY, SITTING IN A TREE, K~I~S~S~I~N~G! FIRST COMES LOOOVE, THEN COMES MARRIAGE! OOPSEY-DEE NOW THERE’S A BABY IN THE CARRIAGE~!”

With my face now buried in my hands I start contemplating my next course of action. _Lisanna and Happy know, now I can no longer be Natsu Dragneel. I’ll have to change my name, dye my hair, practice a new form of magic and cut off one of my fingers. I’ll live the bandit life and call myself Nine-Fingered-Joe and earn money stealing from criminals who’ve already stolen from other people._

        “Natsu, all teasing aside…” Lisanna’s gentle tone brings me out of my planning and I listen to her continue, “Don’t you think that, _deep_ down on some subconscious level you _do_ have feelings for Gray? I mean, flirting and being a tease is one thing, but it’s kind of silly to kiss someone if you can’t stand them… you know what I mean?”

I drop my hands down from my face and let them rest limply on my thighs. I hate to admit it but Lisanna does have a point. But it doesn’t matter, even if I did, and I’m not saying I do, _if_ I did have feelings for Gray, it wouldn’t matter, once he found out that kiss even happened in the first place and I made him feel crazy and think it never happened, he probably won’t even _look_ in my direction anymore.

“No, I’d never like that dumb jerk. And besides, it was all a prank, it wasn’t even a long kiss so it doesn’t count… right after it happened I convinced Gray that he was spacing out the whole time and none of it ever happened. It was a lot of hard work, believe me, but we had a long train ride ahead of us and I’m a pretty decent actor…” After telling this I look up to see Lisanna staring at me like I had just murdered someone and Happy seems like he’s about ready to burst with laughter at any second, tears in his eyes and everything!

“YOU _WHAT_..?” They ask in unison with two different tones; one, amused and the other furious.

While Happy nearly falls out of the sky with laughter, Lisanna reams me a new one!

Lisanna stands up out of the snow and puts one hand on her hip and the other hand is pointed at me accusingly while she speaks; “Natsu how could you do something so cruel!? You are right to be ashamed of yourself for this, mister! It might have been funny if you told him right afterwards that it was a prank, but you said this happened when you were fourteen! That was more than five years ago! You are going to MARCH back to Magnolia after we deliver these ingredients to the healer and you will tell Gray what you did and apologize for it! How would you feel if someone you had really strong feelings for did something like that to YOU, Natsu!? That’s not kind at all!”

I wince at the venom in her words but I don’t deny what she’s saying. I know what I did was pretty damn awful, and she doesn’t even know the whole story behind it yet, the cigarettes and me ruining Gray’s imagination part.

What am I even going to say to him? I didn’t think I’d have to talk to him again so soon after the rejection. This is just going to be like rubbing salt in the wound. I guess I have a pretty long walk back to think about all of this.

\---

**October, 11 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Juvia Lockser**

 

Gajeel better be trying to prank me right now because if Natsu really _is_ here I will throttle him! How dare he come to the home of my beloved Gray so soon after taking his heart and stomping it into the dirt!

I go straight into a sprint towards the apartment complex without waiting for Gajeel to catch up. _I need to get to Natsu before Gray knows he’s here_!

 _Wait is that Lisanna by the door_? I come to a screeching halt, nearly tripping over my own feet as I stare at the take-over mage with confusion.

“Lisanna, what are you doing here?” I ask blinking down at her grumpy expression owlishly. Happy is asleep on top of her head and she’s still in her winter gear so she must have _just_ gotten back from her mission with Happy and Natsu. But why would they stop here at Gray’s first before going home? What’s so important that it can’t wait?

“I’m just here to make sure Natsu does the right thing, he’s done something awful to Gray and he needs to own up and apologize for it!” Lisanna seems very upset about whatever she’s talking about. Does she know about the rejection? Did Natsu tell her?

I notice Gajeel approaching from my peripheral vision, but I keep all my focus on Lisanna.  

Lisanna folds her arms over her chest and turns to face me with a pouty frown; “You won’t believe this, but Natsu---…”

 

…

 

My eyes widen after hearing such a thing! It reminds me too much of how I was treated in my youth! How young boys would grab and kiss me in private or at parties but the very next day act as if they had amnesia! It was humiliating and devastating; to this day my blood still boils at the memory of their cruelty! Natsu has _officially_ made number one on my shit list!

\---

**October, 11 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Natsu Dragneel**

 

I stood at Gray’s door with my fist raised but not knocking for at least five minutes. Even with all that time I had to think today I’m still clueless as to what to say to him.

I’m sure his neighbor must think I’m stupid standing here like this, but what do I care about what some stranger sitting in the hallway window smoking thinks of me? That cigarette smells awful! It’s practically suffocating me and making other scents impossible for me to pick up.

_What if Gray starts crying again? What if h—_

“You do realize that I’m sitting right _here_ , right?”

My eyes nearly bug out of my head as I whip around to the figure sitting in the window that I thought was a neighbor of Gray’s, but is actually _Gray_! (It must be because he’s wearing clothes… or rather, _all black_ clothes, like some gothic teen)

“I didn’t recognize yah wearing all that angst.” I say nonchalantly but inside I feel extremely uncomfortable with this situation, even more so now knowing that Gray just saw me standing at his door staring at it for five minutes like a moron.

“Bite me.” He retorts dryly.

“Is that an invitation?” I reply before I can even THINK about what I was saying. I bite my tongue after and mentally scream as Gray turns to glare at me with his cigarette dangling loosely out of his mouth.

He pucks the death stick from his lips and blows smoke through his nose, “More of a challenge really.” He replies coolly.

“You know I never back down from a challenge, Gray.” _There goes my mouth again talking before I consult with my brain first!_

Gray nearly chokes on the smoke in his lungs, blowing it out in one long puff, then he does that little side smirk and shakes his head, “So how’d your mission with Lisanna go? Did you get the healer what she needed or should I be packing my shit and buying the next ticket to Bellum before the plague spreads to here?”

“Yeah, it went well. It was a pretty simple mission, I didn’t even have to fight anything… except well, Lisanna almost beat me up near the end.” I admit, leaning back against the wall near his apartment door.

“Oh yeah..? What’d you do? Eat one of the ingredients? Deprive her of sleep with your monstrous snoring?” Even though Gray may sound apathetic I can tell he’s being playful.

“Nooo… nothing like that, well… you see, I _kind_ of, hm… actually it’s a long story so I’ll summarize. Basically stuff happened and I ended up telling her about something I did in my past that was pretty bad and she got _pissed_. She didn’t speak to me the whole way back, you know.” I feel the hairs on my arm starting to stand on end despite not being cold.

“Damn, that’s pretty rough, what’d you do?” He asks as he turns to the side to put rub the end of his cigarette against the outside of the building to put it out.

…

It’s hard to find the right words, my mouth moves a few times but I keep coming up empty.

I rub my knuckles while I stare down at the scuff marks on my shoes, _I should really invest in a new pair soon, damn and I just got these a few months ago, I guess in my line of work that’s just what happens._ I stop rubbing my knuckles and bring my pinky finger up to my mouth and bite at the corner of my nail. _I wonder if they make magic shoes that repair themselves..? Repairing them myself only lasts so long and getting all these replacements is expensive. I wonder what Igneel made my scarf out of, it never seems to get damaged, but then again it just sits around my neck, all it really does is flop in the wind… but actually it DOES have magical properties, maybe one of them is self-repair or it’s just indestructible…_

“Natsu quit biting your nails, you know I hate when you do that, it’s so disgusting!” Gray scolds me, reaching out to swat my hand away from my mouth like I’m some misbehaved child. _When did he get so close to me_?

“It’s halfway off, I _need_ to finish it or it’s gonna drive me crazy,” I tell him as I raise the same hand again but he grabs my wrist and holds it back.

“No!” He tells me with a disgusted look on his face.

“It’ll just take me a second; you can close your eyes if you need to!” I say, struggling against his grip to get my hand close enough to my mouth, and so when that doesn’t work I try to lean down to it, but he pushes my forehead back. _So that’s how he wants to play it_.

“At least let me go get some cutters!” He says as I’m pushing at his face to get him _away_ from me. Who is he to tell me what I can and can’t do with my own body!

“That’ll take too long!” I argue as he tries to pin my arm behind my back but I twist out of the hold—only to end up on the floor when he swipes his foot behind my ankle and in a quick motion he gets my neck between his legs in an awkward headlock with my arm held by the wrist out of my mouth’s reach.

“Then I’ll make some right here!” Gray uses his ice-make magic to create a pair of clippers, I can’t see his face from this angle but I just _know_ he’s got that stupid smug smirk on his face! How dare he think he can dictate how I primp myself!

“Gray this is SICK! You’re messed up in the head! You don’t just force your own twisted habits onto someone else!” I growl as I squirm around, trying to find a way to get free, but each time I move he squeezes his legs tighter and cuts off my supply of oxygen. Bastard!

I try to at least keep my hand balled into a fist but he pries my pinky finger out and clips the half chewed end off with a laugh that’s _far_ too pleased for the situation we’re in.

“THERE NOW IT’S DONE SO YOU CAN GET OFF OF ME I’M TIRED STARING AT YOUR CROTCH!”

“You’re just going to keep biting them so I might as well trim them all while I’m at it! Why do you let your nails grow out so freakishly long anyway? It’s gross, Natsu!” Gray continues to pry open my fingers and clip my nails one by one, _chick, click, click._ The feel of an icy blade underneath my nails is eerily uncomfortable, but Gray is careful to not cut my nails too close to the skin.

I stopped struggling after the third, and at that point Gray lets me out of the headlock and sits cross legged in front of me to continue abusing my rights of free will.

Now is as good a time as any.

“Gray… do you remember when we had similar missions in Midi..?” I ask quietly. Gray shrugs in response.

“We’ve both been to Midi a few times throughout the years, be more specific, which part of it?”

I scratch the back of my head with my free hand, the hesitation felt like I was stuck in pool filled with sand, every move I made just made me feel more and more stuck and had me sinking further to the bottom.

“I don’t really remember the town name, but I know the mission I had to defeat some witch that kept turning kids into dolls… it was a pretty weird one…” I watch his expression closely from then on. A ticking time bomb has just been set. The moment I tell him the truth of that day the calm between us will erupt into something else entirely, hatred is likely.

But Gray remains casual so far, his features are neutral while he cuts the last nail off my right hand then reaches for the left, which I begrudgingly let him take, “I remember now, yeah, same day I had to deal with helping some noble find his lost dog only to find out it was just a _painting_ of a dog after an entire day of practically tearing the city apart looking for the damn thing…”

I can’t stop the few chuckles that escape me. Every time Gray tells me this story I become a helpless laughing fool on the floor. He gets SO angry all over again and he tells it with more passion than the last time each time I hear it. He always says—

“I thought the damn thing was dead! You know how I am with animals! I was in tears when I thought I had to go back to that man’s house and tell him I thought his best pal was a goner! But I searched for three days, THREE DAYS! I didn’t want to give up hope, and I really wanted to meet this dog, but then on the final day the man tells me he found it in the basement under some boxes! Do you know how upset I was when I found out it was a _painting_ of a dog! Not even _his_ dog! Just some random one!”

_HE SAID IT!! Gray’s eyes look so sad! I… I can’t hold it in it’s too priceless! But I can’t laugh, not now! I need to stay serious!_

I clear my throat and regain my composure.

“That’s what you get for just taking missions to be close to me, stalker.” I bite my tongue and mentally disown it.

Gray clips my last nail and then drops my hand abruptly, “You know what… honestly I was being a bit of a stalker back then, I frickin’ adored you, Natsu, and you always acted so goofy and carefree that I worried you might get yourself hurt or lost and I wanted to be nearby in case that happened so you wouldn’t feel alone!”

My heart slams against my chest so abruptly that I lose my breath for a few seconds. _So that I didn’t feel alone, he did all that just so I wasn’t alone_? My head droops and my bangs cover my eyes; I always just thought he was following me around like some blushing fangirl.

“On the train… it wasn’t your imagination, Gray.” The confession comes out with each syllable feeling like led in my mouth. _And here it comes… I’m sure he’ll be confused, maybe deny what I’m saying now even._

“Wait a second…” Gray trails off, and I squeeze my eyes shut in preparation for what would come next. I’m not sure why but I felt like it was easier to close them at a time like this.

But then Gray chuckles; “Are you talking about that time you kissed me on the train then tried to convince me it never happened and I was losing my mind?”

_H-he… what…?_

I lift my head and stare at him wide eyed, my jaw slacked open slightly and gaping like a fish out of water. He knows!? Or rather, he didn’t actually fall for what I was saying and just let me go on believing he did!

“You tricked me…” I marveled at the whole situation. Gray tosses his head back and laughs loudly, holding his sides and nearly falling over.

“For the past five years I have felt guilty about doing that, I thought I caused you to lose your imaginative side…” I blink at him in confusion, still trying to wrap my head around all of _this_.

He snorts with laughter and shakes his head, “I was just acting! I daydream all the time, Natsu! Always have!” He shoots me that stupid grin again.

“So what’s with the smoking?” I ask, raising my voice slightly.

He shrugs, “A different reason,” Gray answers, it’s all he’s willing to provide me with on the matter.

“So…” I start with, crossing my arms and glaring at Gray, “For all this time… _I_ thought I had made you think you were crazy, but the truth is, my prank backfired and you ended up pranking _me_ instead.”

While I’m talking Gray stands up and brushes himself off, stretching his arms over his head to stretch out his back, and in doing so exposes his midriff.

I narrow my eyes upon noticing a fuzzy little trail that isn’t _usually_ there. _Well SOMEONE is trying a new look, by that I mean he usually shaves most of his body hair. Why? I have no idea._

“It’s not like I don’t can’t see you staring directly at my crotch, Natsu… eyes are up HERE.”

I stand up quickly and turn my back to Gray with irritation. My face is starting to all warm again, that damn cold mountain giving me frostbite!

“I wasn’t lookin!” I reply snappily.

Gray ignores me and continues on; “Anyway, you’re the one who started it, I knew you’d feel so guilty about being an ass one day and you’d come crying to me with a confession.”

Stupid jerk…

“Can I be honest with you for a second?” Gray asks, and then I feel his hand on my shoulder, pulling me back around so that I’m facing him.

“Yeah…” I answer lamely.

Gray’s hand doesn’t leave my shoulder as he speaks, “I was pretty upset when you rejected me, no actually, I was kind of devastated, and it’s not because you didn’t want to be with me romantically, what got to me about all of it was that you treated me different, like I was just some high school girl that left a love note in your locker—then you just _left_. We’ve been best friends for how many years? I thought _that_ was it for us, I thought that because my feelings were put out there that we weren’t going to be able to have our daily arguments. Do you know how lost I would be if I couldn’t toss sass back and forth with you anymore? I mean, is this how it’s going to be from now on? You leaving town whenever you can to avoid being around me?”

I surprise myself with what I do next; my body gets a will of its own and throws itself onto Gray, arms around him in a crushing hug and my chin resting on his shoulder.

“I don’t want things to change, Gray.” I tell him, patting his back with aggressive affection.

I think realization hits us both at the same time judging from the heavy silence in the hall. _This is the first time I’ve ever really hugged Gray._ _This is our first brotherly moment; our broment._

He finally hugs me back (probably after the shock of our broment wore off) and he squeezes me tight.

With emotions running high I cease the opportunity to do a little opening up; “I hate change, Gray… but I hate the thought of losing my best friend more.”

“I… I can’t keep pretending I don’t have feelings for you though, Natsu… it’ll get weird sometimes… like this,” Gray provides an example of this _weirdness_ by sliding his hands down my back and firmly grasping each of my ass cheeks.

“It’s not _that_ bad…” I say with a casual shrug.

“How ‘bout this…?” Gray asks before he slaps my right cheek lightly.

It’s a little weird but I don’t know, it’s not _bad_ , “Still nope.”

“What about some of this then…?” Gray is now using both hands to continuously spank both of my ass cheeks, and it takes me a moment to realize that I’m being used as a bongo drum, and it makes me grin and I _almost_ laugh, but I have a little more self-restraint than that.

“No? This is good?” Gray asks after I don’t answer and I scoff.

“This is great, Gray. This is _really_ great.” I have to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing. This is too much, he’s such a silly bastard but I don’t want him to know he’s funny or else he’ll get all cocky about it!

“Wow, this might sound REALLY strange, but Natsu, your ass is my new favorite instrument, it’s got a great sound to it and it fits pretty nicely in my hands, just like my second favorite instrument…”

I CAN’T HANDLE IT ANYMORE!

“ _GRAY_! BWUHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Y-YOU’RE KILLIN’ ME! PFFFTTHAHAHAA!!”

I’m laughing so hard that I can barely stand up on my own; if it weren’t for Gray holding me I would be on the floor. I’m crying now and my sides are hurting! Why won’t it stop!? Oh lord now I’m snorting!

“Then I guess I’ll have to provide resuscitation,” With his hands still groping me from behind he puckers his lips and leans in close to me.

I turn my head, thinking that things had crossed a line, but when his mouth touches my cheek, he blows air against my skin and makes a tooting sound that completely throws me off guard.

I turn my head back to glare at him and say, “I’m gonna make you pay for that,”

Gray shrugs with a carefree grin, “How much did it cost?”

I blow air out my teeth and slap him on the shoulder as we separate, “Ooh you’ll see, just when you LEAST expect it!” I tell him as I walk towards the stairs exit.

“What exactly are you going to do?” Gray asks with a troublesome look, scratching his head.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I wink at him before turning my back and heading down the steps, but I stop at the first one and freeze.

There are four bodies sprawled out all over the stairs staring up at me, one of them is Lisanna, then of course Happy, which isn’t too surprising, neither is Juvia, but Gajeel being here has me completely baffled.

I look up and over at the ice-mage, “Gray I’d be careful if you wanna go downstairs, looks like you have an infestation.” He looks at me like I’m a crazy person before walking over to see what all the fuss is about.

When his eyes lock on our guild mates his entire face turns the color of my hair.

“WHAT ARE YOU JERKS DOING JUST LYING AROUND IN A PLACE LIKE THIS? DON’T ANY OF YOU HAVE LIVES TO LIVE SOMEWHERE _ELSE_!?”

_I don’t know what it is, but something about Gray when he’s angry just makes me really giddy._

 

\---


	7. X791-Present-It couldn't hurt to turn my brain off, just once

**October, 11 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

After that emotionally confusing encounter with Natsu all I wanted to do was be alone with my thoughts, but all the nosy prowlers that had eavesdropped on the entire scene between the two of us invited themselves into my house, even Happy is here! (He told Natsu he wanted to spend some more time with Lisanna and he would be home later.)

“Why the hell are you all here?!” I shout impatiently at the bodies occupying every seat in my living room.

Juvia stands from my recliner and speaks first, “We are here to help you and Natsu become an item!” She states confidently. _Yeah, RIGHT Juvia!_ I give her a skeptical look as Gajeel chuckles creepily from my bean bag chair.

“I even know the perfect plan to make it happen!” He claims with a cocky glint in his dark eyes.

Juvia perks up at this and rushes over to him, clutching her hands over her chest as she bends down to his eye level.

“So it isn’t hopeless after all!? You know a way that we can manipulate Natsu’s feelings to force him to love my darling Gray?”

_Oh dear MAVIS, Juvia, that’s the LAST thing I want! Not even the last; I don’t want Natsu at all if it isn’t his own feelings! How can this girl go from an amazingly comforting friend to insane in zero point seconds flat?_

“You got it all wrong,” Gajeel begins as he brings a hand to his mouth and starts chewing on his nails.

 _WHAT’S WITH THESE PEOPLE_?!

Spitting his severed nail out on MY floor, Gajeel continues, “You just can’t really force anyone to love someone, especially not Dragon Slayers, but the little scene between those spazzes gave me the opportunity to gage Salamander’s reactions to Gray… he can talk all the talk he wants about how he doesn’t like _change_ and wants to stay _just_ friends but his body is giving off an entirely different message.”

“W-what are you trying to say?” I ask stiffly. He wasn’t saying what I think he is, right?

Gajeel tosses his head back and sighs exasperatedly; “It’s pretty weird to explain ‘cause for me it just _is_ and always has been something I can do. Here’s an example. Your heart is getting pretty fast, and your scent tells me you’re anxious, and I can tell Juvia must be off in some murderous daydream because she smells like rage, see what I’m getting at?”

I feel sweat form on my brow as I crank my head around to peer at Juvia. She’s gazing off somewhere to the left away from everyone with a lethal look in her eyes. _What’s she thinking about that’s got her like that?_

“Yeah… I get yah…” I say as I cross my arms, letting my fingernails dig into the fabric of my sweater.

“What I just witnessed is a whole lot of denial on Salamander’s part. He was putting off all kinds of mixed signals that it was making my head spin! But there is only one thing I noticed worth mentioning. He’s protective of you. I saw you take him out of his comfort zone a few times and he didn’t try to punch you once. I’m not sure yet, but he shows all the signs for it…” Gajeel mutters the last part to himself as he scratches at his chin.

This guy and his roundabout way of explaining things! “What are you talking about? What’s he showing signs of?” I ask impatiently.

Gajeel chuckles at me, “Isn’t it obvious? Imprinting of course, yah dillweed.”

My jaw drops and the gears in my mind turn sporadically, what did any of that mean though? I know what imprinting is, but I thought it was only for babies and animals!

“Either he’s already imprinted on you, or he’s gonna, either way the solution is simple really… and it’s actually pretty perfect for me!” Gajeel grins as he stands up and takes a few steps towards me, but I take a cautious step back.

“Just hang on a second! What’s all that even supposed to mean?!”

Gajeel stops for a second and sighs, “Do I really have to spell it out for you? Geeze, battle, imprint, claim and mate! It’s THAT simple! I’ll give you an example using my own life! I found Levy and fought her and asserted my dominance, imprinted on her then claimed my treasure!”

“But Gajeel..!” Lisanna pipes up. _Wow she’s been so quite I forgot she was even here!_ “How did you know it was Levy that you wanted to be with? Do you just decide who you want to imprint on after fighting them?”

Gajeel shakes his head, “Not a chance, it’s all instinctual, there is no choice. As a Slayer you’re always gonna wanna fight, and someday you’ll fight someone you can’t beat or you’ll spare someone and either you’ll feel the effects of an imprint instantly or it’ll happen later on.”

“So with this information in mind, what do you plan to do, Gajeel? And what makes you so certain it will earn us the desired results?” Juvia asks, apparently finally done with whatever murderous daydream she had been earlier.

“My plan involves the one thing you should _never_ do with another slayer’s intended mate… hell, even _I_ know I shouldn’t do it but I owe that fire-breathing behemoth a good scare for what he did to my Levy.” Gajeel explains with a clenched fist.

“What did Natsu do to her?” Lisanna asks, tilting her head with a puppy dog frown.

“He threw her in a dumpster!”

I narrow my eyes at the iron Dragon Slayer. _I highly DOUBT Natsu would ever throw anyone, let alone LEVY in a dumpster no matter what mood he is. I bet he was pissed off and accidentally shoulder checked her or something. He gets careless like that when he’s in a bad mood._

“That’s terrible!” Lisanna cries out in horror, “Oooh! I’m going to give him an earful when I see him!”

Happy frowns and looks from Gajeel to me, “That doesn’t sound like Natsu at all…” He says and I nod along in agreement.

“Gajeel, you never mentioned what this plan entailed…” Juvia points out as she takes a step forward to stand beside the taller mage.

“Oh that? I just gonna do this..!” Gajeel grabs me by the shoulders and pulls me forward out of _nowhere_ and slides his long, creepy tongue up the side of my face.

I recoil from the inside out and wince as he rubs his hands all over in my hair before releasing me with a satisfied grunt.

“There, now all we got to do is dangle the bait in front of the Salamander, geheheh….”

 _Why do I have such a bad feeling about this_?

 

\---

**October, 12 th, X791**

**Fairytail Guild Hall**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

Last night I really didn’t get in much sleep, I was too anxious about today. I’ve had quite a bit of time to think about it and I’ve concluded that they’re all crazy, especially Gajeel. There is no way Natsu has any sort of romantic feelings for me. I got licked by that weirdo for nothing because I know for a fact Natsu isn’t going to react about it at all. It’s just plain crazy!

And how did it go from just Juvia knowing about all this to Gajeel, Happy and Lisanna too?! At this rate we might as well post a bulletin about it in the guild for everyone to see! It would save everyone some time.

The guild hall is pretty quiet this early in the morning, there is only a slight murmur of conversation going on, and everyone else is either eating breakfast with the occasional clang of a eating utensil or in a sleep induced haze waiting for their coffee to do the trick.

I head for the front counter and order a coffee from Mirajane as I’m taking my seat. I don’t even have to give her the specifics, no one really has to, she’s known us all so long that’s she’s pretty much memorized what everyone likes. It’s actually impressive! I could never do something like that.

I wait there at the counter while she prepares my beverage and engage her in casual conversation, just a typical _how’s your morning going_ type deal.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Gray! We missed having you!”

I’m thrown off for a second before I remember that Juvia told everyone I had been sick for the past few days. I smile at Mira sheepishly and laugh lightly, “Yeah that bug really kicked my butt.”

She places my steaming beverage on the counter and scoots it over to me, “Be careful, it’s very hot!” She tells me kindly before wiping the counter with a rag and moving on to the next person.

I take my drink and turn around, scanning the guild, in the far corner my ears pick up a two familiarly loud voices and I spot the sources. _Of course_.

“I’m tellin yah I’m fine! I ate something from a shady vender!” Natsu exclaims, sitting across from Lucy at the back corner booth.

“Well you should have told me that before you left! I was worried sick about you, Natsu!” Lucy reprimands him harshly.

“Sheesh..! I’m _sorry_ , Lucy, it won’t happen again! What can I do to make it up to you?” He asks, leaning his elbows on the table.

Lucy’s angry demeanor vanishes and she turns, fishing around in her purse for a moment before retrieving a flyer that she unfolds and slams on the table with an excited twinkle in her eyes, “You can start by taking this mission with me!”

Natsu shrugs his shoulders and shoots her a grin, “Fine! It’s a deal! When do we leave?”

The thought of Natsu leaving again so soon (and with another girl I’m insanely jealous of) makes my stomach turn sour, I almost turn around and head back to the bar, but Lucy spots me and waves me over.

I finish my trip over there and take the end seat next to Natsu, at least this way I can look at Lucy and ignore him.

“Gray you HAVE to come on this mission with us! It has a HUGE reward, look!” Lucy beams at me as she slides the paper over for me to read.

“It says here it’s all the way in Joya. That’s like a four and a half day trip by train. Do you _really_ want to listen to Natsu getting sick for nearly _five days_?” I ask her before taking the first sip of my coffee. It’s perfect, flavor, heat, strength, Mira really is a miracle worker in the kitchen.

“Can’t we just walk there?” Natsu whines as he drops his thick head onto the table and causes my beverage to spill a little over the edge.

Seeing this, Lucy hands me a napkin and I silently thank her with a look.

“I know but this is TOTALLY worth it, even if all of us were to go and split the reward five ways, I’ll earn enough rent money for three months, PLUS a little for spending!”

I look back at the flyer as she jabbers on excitedly about shopping. It doesn’t sound very difficult, but there has to be a catch. It talks about needing wizard help and it gives an address but there isn’t anything else. No specifics, not even a name for the client, _just_ the address.

“I don’t know, Lucy, this looks a little fishy to me…” I tell her warily, but she scoffs and snatches the flyer out of my hand.

“Even if it _is_ , we are the strongest team in Fairytail! We can handle whatever they dish out!” Lucy says as she makes a fist in the air for emphasis.

“You got that right!” Natsu agrees enthusiastically.

Lucy stands, waving her arms and looking towards the door, “Yo, Erza! Take a look at this mission!”

I look over my shoulder to see Erza walking in the front door and making her way towards the bar without stopping, she just motions for Lucy to come over. _That’s Erza for you; she isn’t fully awake until she has her morning cup of tea_.

“I’ll be right back guys!” Lucy says before climbing out of the booth and hurrying across the guild to meet up with Erza.

I take another drink of my coffee, smiling into the cup, things feel pretty normal right now and I’m okay with that.

_Inhale_

My eyes just about pop out of my head and I almost spit my coffee everywhere when I feel Natsu’s nose brush against my jaw.

I swallow hard and try to keep still and pretend he isn’t there.

“Have you been around _Gajeel_ recently?” Natsu’s tone actually sends a shiver up my spine. It’s deep and possessive and I’ve never heard anything like it come from him before.

I need to remember what Gajeel told me before him and the others left my place last night…

“He was at my place yesterday, don’t you remember..? You saw him too.” I say, using all my will power to remain calm and collected.

“How long did he stay there?” Natsu asks bitterly as he reaches up to toy with the draw string dangling from my hood.

Gajeel’s voice suddenly pops into my mind, _you need to make him think we did something, otherwise it won’t work_.

I bring my cup to my lips and swallow thickly. _I can’t believe it, is that guy’s plan really working? This can’t be real_.

“A while…” I answer shortly as I set my cup back on the table with care.

\---

**October, 11 th, X791**

**Fairytail Guild Hall**

**Natsu Dragneel**

 

How long exactly is _a while_? What was Gajeel even doing there anyway? How many times has he gone to Gray’s since I was gone? I didn’t smell it before, but now I do, did I just not notice? It’s not like Gajeel is the affectionate sort so I can cross off a goodbye hug from the list of things that might have happened to cause his scent to get all over my Gray.

 _What did I just think_? _MY?_ No, I don’t… I don’t like him that way.

I watch Gray bring his coffee mug to his lips once again, his long eye lashes brushing his cheeks as he looks down the glass. My gaze shifts down to his throat, hidden by a black turtle neck. I wish he would strip. If the two of them really _did_ do something like that, wouldn’t there be marks left behind?

Something is taking over me and I can’t stop it. It’s like my body is being overflown with rage. It’s as if I’m slowly being pulled away from the controls and someone, or _something_ else takes my place at the helm.

I grab the collar of Gray’s shirt and pull it down, out of my way and I scan his bare neck for marks thoroughly.

An image pops into my mind that has fire burning wildly in the back of my throat. _I need to know_.

I can’t think straight, that picture won’t go away, its making the rage in me burn with the intensity of the harsh desert sun. Gray pinned underneath that… _that_ … CREEP!

My mouth opens wide then closes around something cool and soft, my teeth burrow in.

Something brings me out of my haze, slowly pulling me back to reality and out of those dark thoughts. _What is it_..?

I blink, bringing my focus onto Gray’s face, staring at me with a red face and angry eyes, holding his hand to his neck, from his palm I see red.

_Drip_

Whatever insanity had taken over me is finally over, the clouds are vanishing and I’m crashing hard back into my body from that strange position on the sidelines.

_What did I just do?_

_Drip_

“Did I…” I stop talking, moving my tongue has me tasting a coppery flavor. I reach up and press my fingers against my lips, pull them back and find red.

_I did, I bit Gray! Why the hell would I do that?!_

My heart slams against my ribcage as I scan the room. Did anyone notice what I had done?

Not a single eye is turned our way.

I scramble, quickly I get up and reach across the table to the napkins, grab a bunch and bring them back to Gray with shaky hands, I press them to his neck without thinking. _He’s probably pissed! Or maybe terrified! If I had bit him any deeper I could have struck a main artery._

“I-I’m sorry...” I whisper, my eyes darting from him to our unsuspecting guild mates.

“Its fine, Natsu,” Gray says in his usual apathetic tone.

I open my mouth to apologize again because I don’t feel like the first time was nearly enough. _What the hell WAS that just now? Why would I ever do that? What came over me?_

Gray speaks before I can, “I _did_ challenge you to try to bite me yesterday, didn’t I? You caught me off guard. It’s not even that bad, look…” Gray pulls the napkin away to show me what I’d done, I didn’t want to look at first, but I end up doing it anyway.

My heart stammers and something clicks in me.

_Marked, mine…_

 

…

I don’t know for how long I’ve been spacing out, but when I come out of my empty thoughts both Erza and Lucy are sitting across from Gray and I, Happy is sitting on the table nibbling at a little fish and Wendy is even here with Carla on her shoulder, she’s standing, looking extremely happy about something. And they’re all talking and laughing about something, I only catch fragments of their conversation and none of it makes sense so I try to listen in.

“…And then we’ll meet at the train station!” Lucy decrees with excitement.

“That’s a great plan, Lucy! Carla and I are gonna head out now! We’ll see you guys there!” Wendy tells us cheerfully before spinning on her heels and skipping towards the exit.

“I’ll go with them!” Happy cheers with a mouthful before sprouting his wings and hurrying after the two.

 _How long have I been spacing out this time_?

“What are we doing again?” I ask plainly, causing Lucy to groan and Erza to shake her head at me.

“Honestly, Natsu, you need to pay more attention to your surroundings.” Erza scolds me before her and Lucy stand from the table.

“Gray you wouldn’t mind debriefing the team idiot, would you?”

My heart skips a beat at the mention of his name and I turn to look at him. His turtle neck is covering the bite mark now.

Gray sighs and shakes his head, “Why is it always me that has to do it?” He asks.

“Because out of all of us, you have the most patience..!” With that Lucy and Erza leave us.

Gray stands and indicates for me to follow, and I do, what else am I going to do? Sit here forever?

 

…

 

Outside, we start walking away from the guild and the sun is high up in the sky with some dark clouds rolling in from the distance.

“So while you were in la-la land the girls made plans for all of us to go to Joya and do that quest Lucy had been showing us earlier, they want to meet up by dusk at the train station and head out to night. That’s all you missed.”

I nod absent mindedly but I heard him clearly.

“Are you feeling ok, Natsu?” Gray asks me, nudging me with his shoulder as we walked.

“Honestly I don’t know…” I admit quietly.

Silence stretches on between us as we walk, practically in sync next to one another.

…

“I didn’t do anything with Gajeel, he just licked my face and it was random and totally creepy. He said he did it to mess with you, but I didn’t understand why it would at the time.” Gray explains as we turn down an alley, a shortcut to his place as I recall.

I nod somberly. Everything is weighing me down all at once, one thing after another just keeps piling on, and reminding me of things I don’t want to think about.

Change, fear, they coincide; one can’t exist without the other.

I know what _this_ means. I can feel it in my bones, it’s instinctual. Gray is mine, I claimed him. My inner dragon has been roaring at me this whole time, _make it official,_ it says, _mate with him_ , it demands.

I knew it was Gray the first time we fought. I remember it vividly. We went at it until we knocked each other out at the same time. Neither of us won, but we didn’t lose either. When I woke up that day after that fight, I felt _it_. That draw, the irresistible pull. It’s like Gray had a gravitational pull and I had gotten trapped inside of it.

Gajeel figured out my little secret I guess, but I’m not sure why he would purposely do this to me. _What’d I ever do to him anyway_?!

I don’t want things to change. I can’t let them change.

_But what if,_

As we turn into a smaller ally I grab Gray by the wrist and stop him.

_No one knew?_

Gray turns to me, his mouth opens but no words come out, he watches me instead, I turn him to fully face me.

_Would things stay the same if we could keep it a secret?_

I place my hands on his arms above his elbows and step in closer to him, never breaking eye contact.

_What would it be like if I stopped thinking for a few moments and just let things happen?_

I search his eyes as I take that small half inch step closer to him so that the fronts of our bodies touch. His grey-blue eyes study mine silently, his heart is pounding.

_It couldn’t hurt to turn my brain off,_

I move my hands up from his arms to grasp both sides of his face in one swift and delicate movement.

_Just once._

Gray’s breathing picks up slightly, his eyes panicked and confused, “N-Natsu what a-are you—?” I slide one of my hands off his cheek to press a finger to his lips to cut him off.

I wait a second, just long enough so I know he won’t try to talk again before moving that hand back into place and pulling him down in the same instant I stretch up on the tips of my toes.

My eyes close as his lips ghost over mine, just that small connection does something to me, ignites a different kind of burn deep inside of me.

I find myself losing control, but not in the scary way like before, this feels natural and I’m okay letting go of the reigns for now.

My hands slide down his cheeks, fingers ghosting over his jaw, then his neck before stopping at his shoulders and going back, where my blunt fingernails gently trace random shapes against the nape of his neck; just below his hairline and I feel the involuntary shiver that crashes over Gray because of it, the best part is that little hitch in the back of his throat. _He’s always been sensitive here and I’ve always wanted to use it against him_.

He shyness slowly subsides, his hands grasp my waist firmly and he draws my bottom lip into his mouth to suck on, I hum with approval and swipe my tongue along the seam of his lips after he releases mine, but I don’t let him take it in, I’m only teasing, I break away from our kiss to instead attach my mouth to his neck, (I pull his annoying collar out of the way first)

I attach myself to the other side of his neck, where my mark isn’t, I gently suck and his knees buckle, when I scrape my teeth against his skin he outwardly moans and all the heat in my body pools into my face.

“Make that sound again, Gray…” I murmur deliriously against his skin.

“Nu-uh…” He responds, slightly breathless.

His refusal only has me kissing his neck more, leaving behind pink blotches as I get closer to his jaw, then right beside his adam’s apple.

He finally gives in and I hear that shaky little sound again and commit it to memory and it satisfies me for now, the trance I was in gently comes undone.

My mouth is back on his in the next instant minus the haste and hunger from before, just gentle and slow, and a little bit wet.

Back flat on my feet I slide my hands back down to the position they had been before I kissed Gray, above his elbows.

I take a moment to let it all sink in. _Does anything feel off?_ Besides the tingling of my lips I don’t feel bad at all, in fact, it was actually really nice to stop thinking for a while. But now with train of thought back online my fears return. _What if Gray leaves me someday just like Igneel did_?

“Did you just kiss me..?” Gray asks, still in shock.

I let go of his arms and fold mine behind my back and grin at him coyly.

“Why would I do something like that, Gray? You must be imagining things again.” I turn my back and start walking again, picking up where we left off.

_Smack!_

I stop, jaw dropped, staring as Gray walks past me backwards and winks. My rear end STINGS!

“Did you just spank me, Gray!?” I call out, not sure if I should laugh or be furious.

Gray shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head, “Why would I do that? You must be imaging things, Natsu!”

I jog to catch up with him, folding my arms behind my head as we continue on out of the alley we had been in and into another. And here we are, continuing on like nothing ever happened.

I spare a glance at Gray and find he’s doing the same, he raises his eyebrows at me and I do the same.

Both of our faces are burning hot, his lips are red and swollen and I can see a hickey that his sweater doesn’t hide just under his jawbone. _He’s going to be so pissed when he sees it!_

At the same time, we both start cracking up laughing.

 

\---


	8. ACT 2- X791-Present-Dragon Bond

**ACT 2**

**October, 11 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia, Central Train Station**

**Gray Fullbuster**

Natsu and I had split ways after our… _encounter_ and it gave me time to actually think about what the heck happened while I filled up one of my packs with some supplies I knew I would need, by now it’s routine and I don’t have to give it much thought.

Did Natsu actually kiss me and all that or was it a very vivid daydream? Could it be that Gajeel was actually telling the truth all along about that imprinting garbage? At best I thought he might have been messing with me, I never imagined his plan would actually work… and exactly why did it work?

I pause in the bathroom while gathering my toiletries in a zip up travel bag. _It’s because he likes me_. Just the concept sounds more like a cruel joke at my expense. _He could have been pranking me_.

With a deflated sigh I place my hands on the side of the sink while my head droops between my shoulders. I really need to learn to stop being so negative all the time. What if Natsu really does have feelings for me and I just sit here doing nothing about it because I keep telling myself I’m not good enough or I don’t deserve someone like him?

I lift my head to look at my reflection; I still look pretty exhausted, well actually I always look exhausted… I never really sleep well anyway. I can’t remember the last time I slept a full eight hours, but what really gets my attention is the dark and blotchy bruise on my jaw. My brows knit together tightly and I turn my head more to get a better look at the mark. _What the hell!?_ All the blood in my body feels like it’s relocating into my cheeks. _He ACTUALLY left another mark on me! After biting me! Did he do anymore?_ I swallow hard, my hand twitching towards the neck of my sweater. Something about this was oddly exciting but at the same time infuriating. On one hand, if people spot them they’ll think I’m either a player or a whore, and on the other Natsu had the gull to make sure I had marks.

What’s with this hot and cold game Natsu’s playing..? Swallowing hard, I hook my index finger into the front of my collar and pull it down to take a look at the damage and it’s actually pretty _bad_. They range in various size and color along the left side of my neck from the junction where my neck and shoulder meet to just below my ear. There is even one right by my adam’s apple!

_Fight, imprint, claim, mate…_

That’s what Gajeel says happens with Dragon Slayers when they find _the one_ , and I don’t know much about what happens in the earlier stages, but the first and last are pretty self-explanatory _. Is marking me up like this his way of claiming me_? My fingers brush up against the sore wound lightly. _Is that what this bite means_?

If that’s the case then Natsu must realize there is something serious between us now. _Could that be the reason he kissed me? Man I really need to have a serious talk with that pyro so I can get all these doubtful and confusing thoughts out of my head!_ This would all be so much easier if I had never fallen in love with Natsu Dragneel. _This guy is a real pain in my ass_.

 

\---

 

For a trip like this the girls decided it would be best for everyone if we get two separate rooms (how can they even call these damn closets rooms?) So that we aren’t all cramped up in the same space for four long days, and it was actually a lot cheaper in the long haul, since Wendy is so tiny she can easily double up a bed with either Erza or Lucy, and the Exceeds never take up much space anyway, so with that in mind, we got side by side double rooms for HALF the price it would have costed us to rent out one with bunkbeds for all of us to squeeze into.

(Expenses aside, the truth of the matter is _no one_ wants to spend THAT LONG stuck in a small space with Natsu on a transportation)

With Happy in here with us I feel too uncomfortable to talk about anything, I have too much heavy shit on my mind to get out any form of casual conversation, and Natsu is being unusually quiet for himself as well, usually by now he’d be moping and groaning about the train. _Maybe he also has something he wants to talk about_? My heart jumps into my throat at the thought. _What could Natsu want to talk about_?

…

Happy clears his throat awkwardly,“What time is the train supposed to take off again?” He asks from the bench beside me, (he isn’t chancing it, even though we aren’t moving yet he’s well aware that we will be, and being in the flame-tard’s close proximity was something everyone avoids)

I check my wrist watch and sigh, we’re going to be here waiting for another twenty five minutes, we got here early and the train won’t leave the station until seven-thirty on the dot, no sooner nor later.

“Seven-thirty,” I grumble, leaning against the window and staring out it with my palm propping my cheek up. On the outside I probably look bored, or maybe even just tired, but this is the only way I can hide the hickey that my sweater won’t conceal. Hiding this thing has been a real pain in my ass, and I’m sure someone is going to notice that I’m avoiding letting them get around the right side of me and that I keep tucking my chin into my collar.

“Ahh… I just remembered that I have something I need to tell Carla about, I’ll be back!”

I turn my head to look at the Exceed in time to see him hop off the bench and walk towards the door, only to pause in the frame, looking over his shoulder at us he says, “This will take a while.” Then he shuts the door behind him.

 _Now we’re alone_ , _it’s almost like this is what Happy wanted_ ; _he was one of the people at my house trying to find a way to fix me up with squinty-eyes here._

Natsu suddenly speaking surprises me a little; “I’m pretty sure Happy just wanted to give us some privacy.”

“No kidding…” I mutter, letting my hand drop from my face as I glare at him in turn.

“Not that we need it…” Natsu says as he leans back with his arms folded behind his head nonchalantly.

I lean forward, elbows on my knees, “Actually maybe we do,” I say with a little sourness in my voice. I just can’t stand how he’s acting like _this_ is no big deal!

“Oh yeah…? Well shoot.” He says, bouncing his foot rhythmically.

I piece together my wording choice very carefully in my mind before speaking, I need to clearly let him know how I’m feeling, “I’m confused, Natsu…” At this Natsu’s foot stops bouncing and his arms slide down to his sides.

“What’s confusing?” He asks with a tilt of his head while shifting his gaze down towards the floor in a way that makes me feel like he knows the answer to that question already.

 _What’s he doing_? I narrow my eyes as he stands up, stretching his arms above his back like he’s just loosening up his joints, and then turn his back to me and plops down a few inches away.

I avert my gaze, I can’t get distracted now, “Your behavior, how you avoid talking about things then pretend stuff isn’t happening. Gajeel told me about Dragon Slayer’s, you know? So I kind of have an idea of what you might be feeling for me but it just makes no sense… did putting his scent on me trigger new feelings or… did you already have them? If it’s the latter then why the heck did you reject me that day?” I really have to force myself to keep talking, every part of my brain screamed for me to just keep quiet and ignore this issue until it eroded away. This is terrifying and humiliating for me, opening up so much when all I get from Natsu is muffled whispering through a thick wall.

Instead of answering me, Natsu throws his arm over my shoulder and pulls me in for what I thought was just a hug at first, but when he kept coming closer and his eyes closed I turned my head to the side and braced myself for impact.

His kiss lands on my cheek with a soft wet sound as he pulled away to try again, “Natsu…” I grumble, overwhelmed with frustration, my face is practically on fire. _I didn’t know he could be so affectionate! But I can’t let him get away with this type of behavior! He needs to be mature right now and talk to me like a civil adult._

“Let me kiss you, Gray…” Natsu gives me that damn pouty face I can’t stand. I blow air out through my teeth and look away, but he leans into me, resting his head against my shoulder and resting his hand on my chest just below my collar bone.

My damn heart is pounding so loud I’m sure that even the girls in the room next to us can hear it… hell maybe even everyone at the guild can! _I need to stay strong!_

“N-not a chance… I don’t give affection away to just anybody.” I manage with a somewhat firm and even tone.

Natsu’s pouty little huff has me pulling away from him, taking his wrist to pull his hand from so I can look him I the eye and show him how serious I am.

“I just need to know you aren’t playing games with me, Natsu.” I say still holding his wrist loosely, he doesn’t seem to mind it, or at least I don’t think he does, he hasn’t pulled it away anyhow so I guess this is okay with him.

“I ain’t doing anything like that… I mean, _kind’a_ but not in the bad way you’re thinking.” Natsu explains gently as he readjusts our hands so that he could lace our fingers together. The instant he squeezes my stomach flutters, his eyes flick up to mine and he gets a devious little smirk, “I like teasing you, _just_ you.”

I look towards the door, just so that I can focus on something that isn’t him, and part of me is a little scared that Lucy or someone is going to walk in and see us holding hands. _What would they think of this?_

“Sure you do, Natsu… but that doesn’t tell me how you _feel_. It would be nice to know what’s goin’ on in that pea-sized thing you call a brain.” After insulting him he squeezes my hand in a painful way that has my face contorting into an uncomfortable expression.

“What’d you say, _Gray_?” He growls, brows twitching downward. He probably thinks he looks so terrifying when he’s angry but to me it’s just like putting fake angry eyebrows on a child’s teddy bear.

I can’t help myself, he’s cute when he’s mad, “Pea-sized _brain_.” I parrot myself from earlier with a daring arch of my brow as I squeeze his hand back in return.

“Don’t pick a fight you know you’ll lose.” Natsu taunts with a cocky look in his squinty eyes.

“What makes you so confident?” I ask him with a dry laugh.

Suddenly he leans in close to me, sending me a look that gives me that fluttery feeling in my stomach again, “Because I know your weakness now…” He says huskily and I _shiver_.

“Tch… yeah right…” I roll my eyes, trying to play it cool, but when his fingertips brush against my knee I tense up and feel my blood rush to my face and ears.

“But I _do_ , Gray… so now you’ll _never_ get to win a fight again.” He says too casually for what he’s doing to me! His hand is fully on my high and he’s rubbing random patterns into my jeans.

It hits me like a ton of bricks at once. _Natsu is distracting me! He’s playing mind games and avoiding the issues!_

With renewed determination I grasp Natsu’s hand, and this time I place it back on his _own_ lap and scoot away from him with my back to the window and facing him.

“Don’t you think we’re getting off topic?” I ask him bitterly. _He must not care at all about what I think. Could it be that… Natsu is one of **those** guys that just wants one thing and nothing else? _ The thought makes my chest ache a little. I’d never admit it out loud but I’ve always liked the idea of having one of those cliché relationships that everyone makes fun of, being cute together, going on dates, holding hands…

Natsu’s flirty attitude vanishes, replaced by tight browed irritation and a roll of his eyes. He folds his arms over his chest and leans back against the opposite wall.

_So he won’t talk about it at all I guess._

I frown, turning my gaze towards my knees, “Natsu… I _really_ like you, but if all you want from me is one thing and you can’t see yourself ever opening up to me about simple feelings then I don’t want to do this, it’s too confusing and emotionally exhausting.” I feel a weight drop to the bottom of my gut and my eyes sting as those words fell out of me. It hurt to say, even though I would love to be with him, I need to think of myself first and how his behavior will affect me because right now, I’m feeling used and toyed with.

The silence that follows my proclamation is very unsettling.

“Fine then…” Natsu grumbles; and I think my heart might have shattered.

“Fine,” I spit back with a shrug of my shoulders.

“I.. a-already had them…” Natsu mutters and I don’t quite understand what he’s saying.

“The… _feelings_ ,” He says the word like it’s dangerous, “I have for you. They aren’t new.”

I don’t say anything because I need more than _that_.

“I rejected you because I don’t like change, Gray, I’m…” Natsu struggles with the next word, it comes out a mumble that I can barely understand, “ _Afraid_ ,”

“I just wanted things to stay normal because… it seems like… whenever I get any strong feelings for anyone they just vanish.”

I didn’t expect anything like that! It hits me pretty hard with realization; _Igneel, then Lisanna._

“I don’t want to say anything Gray, but I also don’t want to think about it either. Thinking makes me want to get as far away from you as possible, my brain is tellin’ me that if I don’t, you’ll be next, and then there is the other half… when I’m with you and I _stop_ and tune it all out, just focus on you, I feel… almost _high_ I guess, like I’m on cloud nine without a care in the world.”

“I can’t give you an answer about how I feel for you, Gray, but you know what that bite I gave yah means, so that should be enough.”

I shouldn’t feel so bad that he didn’t openly say he cares about me but I _do_ , it leaves a part of me feeling empty, but maybe I’m being picky. This is hard for him, I understand but I can’t shake the idea that actually hearing Natsu say _I like you, Gray_ would sound much nicer than _that should be enough_. It leaves me at this awkward impasse where I don’t know what to call him anymore because he doesn’t sound too thrilled about whatever this is going on between us.

“So… what does that make us now?” I ask timidly, rubbing my shoulder with nervousness.

“I don’t get what you’re askin’, Gray.” Natsu says as he stares at me, looking genuinely lost.

“Uh… relationship status…? Like what am _I_ to _you_?” I hoped simplifying it would clear things up, but he looks like I just spoke to him in an alien language.

“Well, you’ve always been Gray to me, so why would it suddenly change… Is this some trick question?” He asks with a bored inflection.

 _Sheesh, do I have to paint this guy a picture?_ I scratch the back of my head while trying to explain, “It’s not what I mean…are we _romantic partners_ now or _just_ friends still?”

Natsu’s eyes light up with understanding at that and his face reddens despite the annoyed look he tries to sport, he even tucks his chin and mouth into his scarf in an attempt to hide his rosy features.

“Geeze, you’re such an idiot.” He mutters.

“You’re one to talk!” I snap back, mildly insulted, I’ve heard worse insults from old grannies.

“I thought you said Gajeel explained this to you.” He snorts back at me as he pulls his knees to his chest to rest his forehead against.

“It was more of a quick explanation, it’s not like I sat down for a six month course about the subject with him.” I sigh, allowing my head to rest back against the wall behind me. _What is he even trying to tell me? Why can’t he just SAY IT?_

“It’s just… that mark on your neck is not just any ordinary bite. It’s… well, kind of hard to explain to someone who doesn’t have the instinct of a Dragon Slayer… but essentially, the mark is a magic seal, and it can only be given to one person in our lifetime.”

While he’s talking I find myself staring at him with amazement and clutching the bite on my neck with both fear and a little excitement.

“S-should I be concerned? What does this seal do exactly? Will it affect my magic?” It was pretty alarming information, typically magic seals were made to keep magic locked up in some way.

Natsu lifts his head and gives me a forced smile, “Don’t worry about it, it’ll wear off in a while, and it doesn’t touch your magic at all, I promise!”

 _Ok… now I KNOW he’s leaving something out. Giving me a look like that must mean it’s pretty bad!_ I swallow thickly before speaking, “What are you hiding, Natsu?”

Natsu’s fake smile cracks for a moment but he recomposes himself and waves his hands at me dismissively.

 

\---

**October, 11 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia, Central Train Station**

**Natsu Dragneel**

 

“So… what does that make us now?” Gray asks me timidly as he rubs his shoulder with that faraway look on his face.

What does he mean by that? _What does it make us?_ As in that silly couple stuff…? I thought he said Gajeel told him about what all of _this_ means.

“I don’t get what you’re askin’, Gray.” I tell him with a bit of annoyance, but he just gets this flustered look on his face and shakes his head at me.

“Uh… relationship status…? Like what am _I_ to _you_?”

It seemed like there was only one answer, obviously.

“Well, you’ve always been Gray to me, so why would it suddenly change… Is this some trick question?” I drone out.

I glance at Gray from the corner of my eye to see him scratch his head, then he starts talking again; “It’s not what I mean…are we _romantic partners_ now or _just_ friends still?”

 _So he IS taking about being a couple._ My breath catches in my throat and my eyes widen a bit. _So it doesn’t know, he just thinks this is a typical romantic thing, he has no idea that it’s much deeper than just calling each other boyfriends or whatever._ My face starts to feel unusually warm so I tuck it into my scarf to hide my involuntary display of weakness.

This means Gajeel hasn’t told him anything about this, _then should I? But how would he react?_ When I bit him, I enacted the first stages of, _Dragon Bond_ , it’s a mating process. One mate for life, that’s the rules. Fight, imprint, claim, and then finally mate, and the secret art will be completed. Once a potential mate is claimed with a certain type of bite the first half of the seal is left on their desired target, and the dragon slayer has a limited amount of time to complete the seal by biting the mark a second time, once that happens a bond will be forever forged. I was told by Igneel that being rejected by your mate is a death sentence. I can still hear his warning in my head.

_“Enacting Dragon Bond is a rite of passage into adult hood. Your mate will make you stronger than you could possibly imagine. But be warned, Dragon Bond will leave you vulnerable, it requires your soul and theirs to intertwine, and at the first stage only ours will be open. They will both return to normal when all is complete, however, the longer you wait to finish the bonding seal, the more of your soul will seep away. When you are a husk devoid of all you once were, you will perish.”_

“Geeze, you’re such an idiot.” I mutter. _Gray wouldn’t want any part in this if he knew what he was getting into._

“You’re one to talk!” He snaps back, sounding a little annoyed with my insult.

“I thought you said Gajeel explained this to you.” I snort back at him as I pull my knees to my chest to rest my forehead against. _What should I do?_

“It was more of a quick explanation, it’s not like I sat down for a six month course about the subject with him.” Gray sighs, then I hear his head lightly bump against the wall. _He wants my honesty, I should tell him._

I lick my chapped lips first, gathering my thoughts before beginning, “It’s just… that mark on your neck is not just any ordinary bite. It’s… well, kind of hard to explain to someone who doesn’t have the instinct of a Dragon Slayer… but essentially, the mark is a magic seal, and it can only be given to one person in our lifetime.” _Maybe I shouldn’t, this is a stupid idea, he wouldn’t understand._

I hear his fearful voice pip up after a moment of silence that felt too long for me, “S-should I be concerned? What does this seal do exactly? Will it affect my magic?”

He must think it’s a different type of magic seal. Gray has no idea how serious this bond is. The two of us will be mated for life, and with him not being a Dragon Slayer I don’t think it’s fair. He doesn’t live by this code, he can be with whoever he wants, and someone like Gray shouldn’t have to be stuck with _me_.

I lift my head and force a smile for him, _I can handle this, I can figure out a way to stop my soul from leaking out, I can’t trap Gray like this,_ “Don’t worry about it, it’ll wear off in a while, and it doesn’t touch your magic at all, I promise!” I tell him, trying to sound reassuring.

“What are you hiding, Natsu?” Gray demands, and I flinch slightly. _How does he always know_?

I feel my smile waver for a fraction of a second but I force it right back up and wave my hands at Gray dismissively. It’s then I realize I never answered his question and I know he still wants an answer. _I’m going to end up hurting him, being around me is dangerous for Gray because of how I feel inside for him. Bad things always happen to anyone I care about._ It’s so hard for me to keep telling myself I don’t have strong feelings for Gray when I feel them so strongly; and now more than ever.

I don’t think of an answer fast enough, Gray has already gotten up and made his way over to me, he grabs me roughly by my shoulders and pulls me to my feet and instantly I feel my body getting ready for a fight, flames licking at the sides of my fists and my body tensing, but…

Gray isn’t hitting me, or slamming my body through the door. He’s holding me, one hand on the back of my head and the other around my waist.

“It must be something more serious then you are letting on… Natsu, I don’t care if this mark causes me to turn into a dragon myself, makes me go bald, or even forces me to have to listen to you bitch and moan even when you’re old and senile!” Gray’s hold tightens on me and I feel his nose in my hair and his fingers gently clutching at me protectively.

“The truth is…” Gray pulls away then, hands coming down to grasp each of my shoulders firmly as he stares down into my eyes, and I’m not sure whose heart is racing faster.

“With you, Natsu, it was love at first sight, from then, and every moment after I’ve only continued to fall harder for you every day… so, no matter what happens, even if you are leading me straight into hell, I wanna be at your side kicking ass! I wanna do this, Natsu, I’m positive! ” Gray’s enthusiasm and words have me completely frozen still, shocked speechless.

Even as the final boarding whistle hoots I don’t move a muscle, time is moving forward around me but I feel like I’m a statue.

The train jolts, and I nearly fall but Gray’s arms wrap around me and keep me upright, it was just what I needed to pull me out of my daze.

“You don’t fully realize what you are agreeing to… y-you’ll be stuck with me, Gray, and you don’t have to be…” I stop talking when I realize my vision is getting blurry. Damn it! Why now?! _Not here, not in front of Gray of all people!_

“You make it sound like a bad thing, but to me I can’t think of anything better… honestly I’m happiest when you’re around anyway, you know how to make me laugh and you inspire me in _so_ many ways it isn’t even funny, you are an amazing person, Natsu.”

When Gray’s hand suddenly touches my face I wince, trying to pull back but his other hand rests on the back of my neck to keep me still, and his thumb gently wipes away the small tear that escaped my eye, when he kisses my cheek right after I’m left breathless.

“It’s okay to cry,” He hums, rubbing my back affectionately while swaying with me.

“I ‘ain’t…” I deny quickly, but the catch in my voice betrays me and all I can do is cling to him, pressing my face to his bare shoulder because apparently he stripped recently. I try to focus on breathing so that I don’t completely crumble to pieces.

“I love you, Natsu, and I’m never gonna leave you, I promise.”

I should explain this more to him, tell him what he’s really getting into and give him a few days to truly decide if this is what he wants.

It was all forgotten to me the instant that promise left his lips.

I bite him and take what’s mine.

 

\---


	9. X777-The Past-Cursed

**July, 6 th, X777**

**Seven, Oroco**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

The mucky snow and rain mix squelches and spurts beneath my booted feet as I race through a forest that had been burnt down a few months ago. The scorched remains are barren of life.

My target is far ahead of me, making her escape. _She can try!_

The rain pours down and beads down my slicker jacket in droves. Conditions like these ones work to my advantage. Today must be my lucky day! I’ll stop the witch terrorizing the townspeople and get a pretty generous reward to take back home to Magnolia with me!

Fist to palm, my hands make the gestures my master Ur taught me, I don’t even have to think about it anymore, maker-magic is a second language to me.

“Ice make geyser!” I smash my hands to the ground then and watch as shards of ice form in a deadly shockwave across the forest, and while the geyser catches up to my target my hands are quickly moving and I’m taking another stance for a different attack, an ice bow appears in my hands and an arrow as well.

I pull back, breathing in and taking aim, _steady now_.

The shockwave is at the witch’s heels, but she’s out of magic from our early fight, all I have to do is shoot her when the geyser knocks her off her feet.

She’s in the air now, helpless, but my concentration is shattered by a thought, _even though she’s not a good person, does she really deserve to die now at my hands?_

My arrow is released, but because of my hesitation, it only pierces my target’s shoulder. The witch falls to the ground and doesn’t get back up all the same.

I frown, my ice bow shattering and my shoulders slumping forward. _If she hadn’t run, I wouldn’t have had to hurt her like this_. _Wait why am I feeling so guilty? She’s captured and tortured to death tons of people. Mothers and children!_

_Speaking f which, I need to get a sample of her blood to open her basement where she holds people captive. She put a blood seal on the door and everything else I’ve tried doesn’t do a thing. This is the only way._ With a gulp, I approach her unconscious body warily; even from here I can see red seeping into the slushy muck from the side of her body.

I pull a white cloth from my pocket before crouching down by her unmoving form. At first I thought she was dead but then I heard her strangled, gurgling breaths. _I see, I must have struck a part of her lung._

I dab the cloth against the wound and let it soak up the fluid for a moment, before folding it up and shoving it back into my pocket with a grimace of disgust. But I had nowhere else to put it, so back in my pocket will have to do.

I pause to look at the woman’s face for a moment. Up this close it’s a lot more terrifying. Apparently she was a victim of her own experimenting and an accidental explosion melted her face. I reach out to touch her neck, feel for a pulse. _Why do I feel sorry for her_? Her heartbeat is slowing down. She isn’t going to make it for more than a minute.

I shake my head and I stand, my knee joints popping in the process, _there is nothing I can do for her now, I better get back to town and free the hostages_.

As I turn to leave, something attaches itself to my ankle and nearly trips me. I look over my shoulder to find the old woman’s wrinkled hand clutching me with a vice grip and staring up at me with pure hatred, blood dripping out from the corners of her mouth.

“W…With my dying breath… I will leave you with a—a parting gift!” She says weakly with a sinister grin while I try to shake her hand off my ankle, but she’s determined to not let go!

“Oh yeah..? What kind of gift?” I ask, giving up and allowing her to hold my ankle, because I know that’s all she can do in a state like this, she won’t be here for much longer anyway.

She cackles, but laughing causes her to go into a coughing fit that lasts for a minute, and when she calms down she’s still grinning like a maniac, “The moment I grabbed you I left a curse on you, _Fairytail Wizard_!” She spits out spitefully with a wolfish smirk. Fear prickles at my skin as I roughly kick her hand away and stumble backwards. _What did she do to me?!_

She spits out a mouthful of blood before speaking; “Your first born… will be far more malicious t-than even Zeref himself. S….Starting at BIRTH, the child will take the life of your lover, and then s-soon everyone you held dear at your PRECIOUS guild, and eventually you yourself!”

I narrow my eyes at the old witch as relief washes over me, “Are you serious? _That’s_ the curse you put on me with your dying breath? You had me seriously worried there for a second! If that’s my curse then I just won’t have any kids!” I beam at her with a bright grin then I stick my tongue out at her.

She rests her cheek in the dirt, eyes becoming hazy as death creeps up on her, preparing to kiss her cold lips and take her soul to the afterlife. _I am curious as to what the angel of death looks like, but not curious enough that I want to find out anytime soon_.

“You think that now, child… but, I have seen your future… just you.. wa...” She doesn’t even get the chance to finish her sentence, her final breath is released and she is still.

“Yeah, sure... rest in peace, old hag.” I say with a polite bow before turning and heading back the direction I came.

“She’s so full of it, future-telling is a just a dumb scam, why the heck would I believe someone about something that hasn’t happened yet? I bet she was just trying to scare me!” I say aloud to myself with a laugh, folding my arms behind my head.

_But still… that would be a pretty terrible future, if she wasn’t lying that is._

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one is short, but it's necessary for the plot! More to come, I promise : o )


	10. X791-Present-The Mysterious Plague

**October, 12 th, X791**

**Train Ride, Passing through Bosco**

**Lucy Heartfila**

 

The first day wasn’t really so bad, considering that I slept through most of it and woke up an hour before arriving in Bosco early the next morning, when I saw Erza and Wendy curled up in the bed next to mine still sound asleep I decided I’d be lazy and relax for a while.

I didn’t notice something odd until I heard a snore coming from the direction of my feet. I crank my head to look to the wall side of my bed to find Carla is beside me, fast asleep and breathing softly, it couldn’t have been her! So w-whose down there?

I bolt upright faster than Gray takes off his clothes and pull the blankets up to cover half my face.

I was never more relieved to see that my cause of alarm was just Happy… darn little cat! Hey but wait a second, isn’t he supposed to be with Gray and Natsu next door? Should I wake Happy up and ask or… or maybe, should I do some investigating of my own..? It’s still pretty early, so maybe they are awake and I can ask them myself! (More like snoop)

Carefully, I crawl out of bed, pulling my night shorts down to a more appropriate level because the damn things vanish into crotch-city every time!

I open and shut the door as quietly as possible, biting down on my lip the whole time. I’m not sure why, but it feels like doing that helps whenever I’m trying to be sneaky!

The halls are completely empty, but I keep looking over my shoulders every two seconds as I take the five step trip to where the boys are at.

I feel like I stand there for an eternity _painfully slowly_ turning the knob.

_Almost there…_

_ALMOST there…_

_…_

_Annnnd…!_

_YES!_

I suppress my excitement for now and work on pushing the door open, fraction by fraction until I could see in through a discreet crack.

I almost blow my cover when my eyes process what I was seeing inside!

My jaw drops and I freak out internally, shrieking and running around in my imaginary _panic room_.

_I can’t believe this! Natsu and Gray are SNUGGLING! I’ve never seen this before! Is this a normal thing for them? Maybe holding Natsu somehow lessens his motion sickness so he can sleep? IS he sleeping? I can’t tell from here, he’s all cozy, wrapped around Gray like that!_

I notice Gray’s hand on Natsu’s back, rubbing little circles. People don’t make movements like that while they sleep, so he must be awake! Is he just resting his eyes or something? _They look so… cute_.

I blush and press my hand to my mouth. _Could they really be seeing each other in secret?!_ The very idea fills me to the brim with glee, I almost want to bust in and congratulate them, tell them how happy I am that they have each other! I wonder if they would act differently around others if this was public knowledge…

An idea strikes me suddenly; _could this be why Natsu was acting so strangely the other day? I’m not buying that whole story he gave me about eating bad food!_ I wonder if they got into a fight that day.

Natsu rouses from his sleep, a pair of sleep hazed eyes batting open, he looks a little lost at first, but when he tilts his head and sees Gray the ghosting of a smile appears on his lips, and then my suspicions about them are confirmed when Gray kisses his forehead.

_I didn’t expect that_..!

“You’re cute when you’re sleepy.” He comments, the energy in his voice tells me he’s been awake for quite some time, as there is no grogginess to it.

Natsu buries his face against Gray’s bare chest and grumbles angrily, “Shuddup…” Then he kisses Gray just above his guild mark and Gray responds by ruffling his hair and wrapping his arms around the other more fully.

_Oh…! Wow! Should I actually be here right now? This is EXTREMELY intimate! I should give them their privacy!_

…

Those are some pretty serious hickeys all over Gray’s neck, but I don’t see any more on the rest of his torso. Ok, either Natsu is _no_ fun or they haven’t gone past first base yet.

“Gray,” Natsu starts with while rubbing the ice-mage’s forearm absentmindedly.

“Hmm..?”

“I think… I’d be more comfortable if we don’t tell anyone about this. It’s bad enough that everything is different between _us_ now, I guess what I’m tryin to say is I want to get used to… you know, bein’… _comfortable_ with you before going around announcing it to the whole guild…”

I’m not even the one he’s saying it to but even **I** feel irritated by what he said! He makes it sound like whatever relationship they have is some huge burden! What a jerk! If I were Gray, I’d push him on the floor!

“I’m fine with that. I know this is a huge step forward for you. We can do this thing as slowly as you want, Natsu. I’ll be happy as long as I get to have peaceful little moments alone with you like this.” Gray says with a happy sigh as he nuzzles Natsu’s cheek.

Natsu blushes and looks away, “Don’t go getting ideas, the only reason I’m letting this cuddly business happen is ‘cause its making my motion sickness manageable…”

“Well whatever the reason, I’ll take full advantage of it!” Gray chuckles before grabbing ahold of Natsu’s face and kissing him fully on the lips!

I felt myself leaning closer, widening the crack between the wall in the door just a smidge as I watched, but a delicate hand on my shoulder has me pulling the door closed fast and whipping around and blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

“I wasn’t being creepy!” I whisper as loudly as possible without alerting the two I was spying on.

I nearly collapse in a heap when I realize it’s just Virgo standing there and not some stranger! I’m so relieved!

“But I caught you peeking, Princess, how very naughty of you. How would you like me to preform your punishment?” Virgo pauses to lift her knee and present her open palm, “Over my knee? Or would you prefer to grab your ankles?”

“You can’t be serious right now!” I exclaim, pressing my cool hands to the sides of my burning face. _Does she really want to spank me for just checking on the boys!?_

Virgo smiles and sets her foot back on the ground, “I was only teasing!”

I breathe a sigh of relief and let my hands slide down to my chest. _My heart is pounding_ , _what if Natsu or Gray had caught me spying on their intimate moment?_

“Unless you _want_ to be spanked, in which case, I would be more than happy to be of assistance.” Virgo states in that same casually cool way of hers.

“Why are you even HERE?” I demand, trying to push away the mental image she’s just put into my head.

“It seemed like you were experimenting with voyeurism so I wished to participate.” She explains.

_How can she even SUGGEST something like that in such a public place?_

“I wouldn’t do something like that in such a public place where anyone could walk up!” I tell her frantically, forgetting about the volume of my voice.

I notice a little spark in Virgo’s eyes before she moves swiftly and grabs me by the waist, I gasp and nearly cry out in surprise when she spins me around, dips me and then kisses my forehead—just as the door to Natsu and Gray’s room open up.

Gray stands there, staring at me with a blank expression, and Natsu, standing behind Gray and looking nauseous just looks like he’s focusing on not barfing (something about him seems off though.)

“Uh, sorry..! Didn’t expect to walk into you out here..!” Gray apologizes with a sheepish smile.

Virgo stands me back up straight, and I expect her to release me but instead she wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close.

“Looks like our little secret is out of the bag now, Lucy…” Virgo says with a dramatic sigh. _WHAT SECRET IS SHE TALKING ABOUT?_

Natsu seems to regain control on his stomach then for just a moment and looks between us and grins, “Really? About time! I’m so happy for you two!” Natsu says, giving me a thumbs up from behind Gray.

_What does he mean ABOUT TIME?!_

I open my mouth to argue but Virgo reaches up and squishes my cheeks together, making my lips pucker up like a fish.

“Please keep this discreet… my sweet Lucy is incredibly shy about our love, which explains why we were sneaking around like this.” Virgo tells them while forcing my face into her chest in an attempt to smother my words. Why is she doing this?! _Although… this is kind of nice, she’s so warm._

Wait a second! What am I thinking something like that for?!

Gray chuckles at her, “Of course! We won’t say a word about it, so don’t worry!”

“We appreciate it.” Virgo answers joyfully.

I can only see black fabric from this position, but I hear the shuffling of feet as my teammates pass by us. Bet they are headed for the dining section.

When Virgo finally releases me, Natsu and Gray are long gone and I take a much needed breath, scowling at the celestial spirit with puffed up cheeks.

“What was all THAT about?!” I demand, having half a mind to just send her away for doing something so embarrassing!

“Well I heard them coming out and so I acted on instinct. I figured nothing would throw them off more than thinking they caught us having one of our romantic rendezvous.” She explains casually.

“You could have just said you wanted to talk to me privately about something, they’re both STUPID, they would have believed it!” I nearly shout, but I remember half way through my rant to lower my voice to angry whispering.

“That is true. Would you like to punish me, Princess?” Virgo winks at me as she asks this and something about it makes my stomach feel weird.

“O-of course not..!?” I ask, clearing my throat and turning my side to her. _I need to change the subject_ , “Is there any other reason you came here today?”

Virgo nods as she neatly folds her hands in front of her, “Actually yes, I was doing a little investigating on this mission you’re taking and I have discovered a few things about your client and the issue they seem to be having.”

My eyes light up and I turn back to her eagerly, “What? Really!? What did you find?”

“Your client is doctor Judith Voss. The townspeople seem to have been struck by a plague similar to the one in Fiore that Lisanna and Natsu helped gather ingredients to cure. Despite having access to those same ingredients and being just as skillful as the healer from Fiore, the people she treats end up dying right after the treatment or remain the same. The reason she didn’t put a description in her poster is because she assumed that no one would come to help if they knew they’d be walking into a deadly plague.”

Just hearing the word _plague_ has me wanting to turn right around and head back to Magnolia, but then I feel guilty about it right after, _the others wouldn’t think twice about it, they wouldn’t care what threats stood in their way, helping people comes first above all else!_ “These people need help, I won’t turn my back on them just because I’m afraid of getting a little sick! We’re Fairytail, we never back down no matter how impossible something seems! I know we can do this. Thanks for the heads up, Virgo, I really appreciate it!”

At that, Virgo bows at the waist, “It’s always a pleasure to serve you, Mistress.” Then she vanishes, back to the celestial world.

A part of me is a disappointed to see her go.

 

\---

**October, 16 th, X791**

**Joya Train Station**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

After Lucy told everyone what Virgo found out about our mission we all agreed that we shouldn’t waste any time in getting to Joya, the longer we took the more people that were at risk of catching the plague, we needed to get there ASAP and put the city under quarantine. Erza spent the next few days devising a plan.

Step one, Wendy will cast a charm on all of us that will last a maximum of two hours and will prevent any of us from catching the sickness, then comes step two, as soon as we get off the train Natsu and Wendy are to use their dragon senses to locate anyone with the infection and herd them to a central location, which is the hospital our client works at, and as soon as we get everyone safely inside, we enact step three, that’s where I come in, we don’t want anyone wandering out and causing more people to become sick, so I am supposed to put an ice dome around the building, after that is step four, Erza suspects a dark mage is behind the plague outbreaks so she wants to draw them out, and since we don’t have any clues, Erza and Lucy will remain inside the dome and question the people about any suspicious activity, but in doing so will make them vulnerable to the plague so they’ll have to say inside until Natsu, Wendy and I can find a cure or the wizard responsible for all this.

As soon as the train docks our group splits in two, the Exceeds go with their Dragon Slayers and Lucy, Erza and I start out looking for the hospital’s location via the address on the flyer from the guild.

I stay in the back, following behind the girls with my head in the clouds, these past few days there hasn’t been much to do on the train aside from sleep, eat, or play card games while we waited to get here. Being with Natsu helps me get to sleep easier, it’s really strange, but I keep dreaming about a mission I went on as a kid. It’s strange because I haven’t thought about that day in so many years, why is it coming back to me _now_ suddenly? Even if that old woman’s curse is real it doesn’t even matter, my _boyfriend_ isn’t even capable of baring my children. _Wait a second, he IS my boyfriend right? Or should I say bond-mate? I don’t know, I think the latter sounds odd and if I told people then they’d look at me weird and I’d have to explain and I’d much rather simplify it and just say Natsu is my boyfriend._

A smile tugs at my lips. I really like thinking of Natsu in that way, it makes me feel really giddy but at the same time it’s so surreal since it all happened so fast but I’m also pretty happy that it is! He doesn’t want me acting romantic around with him around anyone else but when we’re alone he’s stubborn and acts like he’s not into all the cuddly stuff, yet he’s the one that starts getting all clingy the moment we’re behind closed doors, (not that I mind it one bit.)

I pull out of my thoughts when I notice Lucy keeps looking over her shoulder at me oddly, and I’m not sure if it’s because she’s worried I might say something about her relationship with Virgo or the thing tied around my neck. I don’t think anyone has noticed yet, or if they have, no one has said anything, but I’m pretty sure words would be had if they realized what I had on. Natsu had wrapped his scarf around me the day he bit me a second time, he said he didn’t want anyone to tease me about all the marks so I’ve been borrowing his precious muffler for the past few days. The girls keep asking Natsu if he’s cut his hair because something seems different about him.

“What..?” I ask, and she falls back to walk at my pace as Erza forges on ahead, muttering to herself about confusing street signs and the address she’s studying from the flyer.

“I just realized it… you’re wearing Natsu’s scarf.” She says, in awe as she points at it, “I’ve never seen that thing leave his body… even at the beach he ties it around his forehead like a bandana at least.”

“H-he let me borrow it…” I sweat a little, I can’t think of a decent excuse as to why I have it. What the heck does Natsu expect me to say when he doesn’t want anyone knowing about what we are? He let me use it because I was _cold_? That’s not gonna work.

There is a spark in Lucy’s eyes and a faint upward tug of her lips as she eyes my neck then meets my gaze.

“So… since you know about my _thing_ with Virgo… don’t you think it would be fair if you let me in on _your_ secret..?” She asks in a whisper, I’m sure she doesn’t want Erza to hear us, and I don’t either.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” I lie, averting my gaze and trying to play it cool.

“Come on, Gray. I saw you had a hickey before we left Magnolia, it was pretty obvious with the way you wouldn’t let anyone get on the right side of you..!” Lucy says as she nudges my side with her elbow, “I suspected you had a lover then, but now that you have that scarf on I think I know _who_ …”

My face turns into a cherry and I fumble around with words to try to make up an excuse but my mind is blank and the only sound I can get out is, “ _uh_.”

She giggles at me and pats my back, “It’s okay, Gray! I won’t tell if you don’t!”

I breath out a defeated sigh, I’m really terrible at lying, “You know since we’re talking about this, I gotta say, I never expected that you batted for the other team, Lucy.” I say with a teasing grin.

When I see her blush I know I got to her, _payback_!

“Not a lot of people do, and I never correct them, so I guess it’s kind of my fault. I mean, it’s just not something I’m comfortable talking about since I know a lot of people are against _that way_ of living…” Lucy takes on that soft tone she gets when she’s embarrassed near the end, and I really do feel for her, I get it, I’ve been there. For the first time since I met her, I feel like we’re genuinely clicking, it’s pretty strange for me, considering that I have been insanely jealous of her all this time.

“I know what you mean, people can be real jerks, Lucy, but don’t listen to them, they all have their heads stuck in black and white boxes, they don’t get to see how beautiful the world is out here like we do.” I smile at her kindly and pat her shoulder, she smiles back and I can see a little bit of tears welling up in her eyes.

The moment between us comes to an end when Erza stops abruptly and announces to us over her shoulder, “We’re here!”

Turning on her heels she looks to me first, “Gray, making the ice dome is going to take a while, so get started right away!”

_Sheesh, so bossy…_

“I’m on it,” I tell her without complaint, making my way over to the huge hospital building. _Where is a good place to start? Maybe by the entrance…? That way I can just circle around and stop on the other side so I can leave an opening for the people Natsu and Wendy find to get inside, along with Erza and Lucy._

Finding a good place a few feet away from the building, I start right away with making a pretty decent sized fence. A dome of this magnitude is going to require me to make a wall around the whole structure before I can turn it into a dome. Erza is right, this will take a while, and it’ll probably use up a majority of my strength in the process.

 

\---

**October, 16 th, X791**

**Joya, Arcas City**

**Wendy Marvel**

 

Gathering sick people up and herding them towards the hospital sounded like a simple enough plan when Erza was talking about it, but _actually_ doing it was another situation. These people have their own busy lives to think about and none of them are willing to stop and do what we say just because we tell them they are going to be sick soon when they claim to feel perfectly fine. They don’t know it yet, but these people have a sickly scent to them and I know for sure if they don’t get help soon they’ll be just as helpless as everyone else with the plague is.

Natsu is getting very impatient despite us only being at this for fifteen minutes he already suggested that we knock people out and drag them to the quarantine zone.

“Natsu..! We can’t do something like that, it’s cruel!”

Flying beside me, Carla nods her head in agreement, “And completely barbaric! We’re here to HELP these people, not traumatize them!”

“Well one way or another we gotta get these people to the hospital.” Natsu scratches his chin in thought, _why do I have such a bad feeling about this?_

Natsu knocks his fist against his palm and declares, “I got it the perfect idea! Follow me, Wendy and Carla!”

Happy sighs from Natsu’s back and grumbles, “Why do I feel like this is going to end badly?”

Natsu turns on his heels and leads us down a few blocks to a party supply store. _What could he possibly need here?_

The store is a little cramped but it has a lot of costumes and decorations for all kinds of parties and events, I found it all pretty interesting so I end up wandering around looking at what they have, that was until I reached the bachelorette party supply section. As soon as I saw a big black… um… _gag gift_ , I swiftly turned around and pretended like I saw nothing, thankful that Carla didn’t notice I saw that stuff. She would have made a big deal about it!

Carla seems pretty annoyed with whatever Natsu is doing, because I can hear her groaning from here, “Are you _serious_ about this?” She asks him.

I follow the direction of her voice and scent until I find her, Happy and Natsu at the back of the store in the Halloween section.

Natsu is standing by a clothing rack wearing a really _interesting_ outfit. He has on a big, grey, fuzzy wolf costume, but to me it looks more like a wolf themed footsie pajama set.

“Um, Natsu… what does this have to do with our mission?” I ask as nicely as possibly. _Should I tell him he looks silly or would that be mean? He seems so happy._

“Don’t you get it? Erza said to _herd_ them, and if we think of them as sheep, then that would make us wolves! And what to do wolves do to herd the sheep? They scare them! See? It’s the perfect plan, Wendy! And look, I found an identical costume in your size!” Natsu elates as he presents the aforementioned costume to me.

I pale at the thought of wearing something so silly. And what does he expect us to do? Bark at people until they run from us? _He has to be joking!_

“Hahaha! That’s pretty funny, Natsu! But let’s get serious okay?”

He looks me dead in the eye with a stony expression, “I am serious.”

My expression falters and I look at the suit as he holds it out to me with a grin.

 

\---

**October, 16 th, X791**

**Joya, Arcas City, Sacred Suns Hospital**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

A half hour or so later and I’ve already made a pretty decent sized wall around the entire building, now all that’s left to do is finish up the dome, but leave an opening.

I wipe away sweat from my brow and take a moment to catch my breath. Just as I suspected, this is really draining me of my magic.

As I’m sitting back on the cool cement I spot Erza leaving the hospital with Lucy in tow, looking stoic as usual. She had gone in to talk to our client while I was working on making the walls

“Find out anything?” I ask her hopefully, but Erza shakes her head.

“Only what Virgo already told us. Doctor Voss is truly stumped by the whole ordeal and she hasn’t seen any strange characters passing through her hospital, and the patients she has inside are too sick to tell us any useful information.”

I feel like I remember something, but I can’t quite grasp it yet, I know it’s _there_ but it’s just barely out of my reach.

“What is it Gray?” Erza asks, placing her gloved hand on my shoulder draws me out of my thoughts.

I shrug it off, “It’s nothing but I’ll let you know otherwise if it is.” I tell her as I hop back up to my feet and head back to work, _I have to get this dome finished before Natsu and Wendy come with sick people_.

“If you insist,” Erza says to me before turning to Lucy, “Come on, let’s go check the water supply, perhaps we will find clues there.”

Lucy nods eagerly and follows behind Erza, “Good idea!”

After those two leave it takes me twenty more minutes to complete the dome, and by then I have to really sit down and catch my breath. I don’t think I’ve ever made anything so massive before, why does this hospital have to be so damn big?! All the buildings in this town are freakishly tall actually, not to mention there’s at least ONE elaborate church on every street corner.

Lying on the cement, I stare up at the dark and gloomy sky and instantly think of Juvia, whenever it’s about to rain I catch myself doing that now, always wondering if she’s upset. Now that I think about it, if it wasn’t for her urging me to confess my feelings for Natsu, nothing between he and I would have changed. We probably would have stubbornly kept our feelings to ourselves until the end of time. Didn’t I make a promise to her that I would help her find love?

I smile at the thought, I already know the perfect match for that weird friend of mine, who just so happens to be ANOTHER weird friend, actually more like _brother_ , I think of him as family at least. Maybe I can get ahold of him after we finish this mission and get him to come over to Fairytail. I don’t think it would be very hard to get Lyon to Magnolia as long as I mention Juvia. It’s strange… I think Lyon fell for her at first sight, just like how it was with me when I met Natsu. _I think the two of them would be perfect together._

A loud rumbling followed by a familiar loud voice draws me back to reality and I tilt my head back towards the source. The ground is vibrating like an angry herd of elephants is on their way!

I sit up and stare over my shoulder nervously, _what is that noise? It sounds like a bunch of people yelling at the same time._

 

\---

**October, 16 th, X791**

**Joya, Arcas City**

**Wendy Marvel**

 

Putting on the wolf footsie pajamas was only the first step in what would soon be the most embarrassing situation in my entire life! I have decided that I never want to go on a solo mission with Natsu ever again! I didn’t even have to act weird to get people afraid because Natsu was weird enough for the BOTH of us!

The first thing he did was take the two of us where a majority of sick people, a town square with busy people at kiosks and other various street venders. Then he let out a roar into the air to draw everyone’s attention.

“LISTEN UP EVERYBODY! I’M GETTING PRETTY HUNGRY AND THERE IS NO POINT IN RUNNING AWAY FROM US! NO ONE CAN SAVE YOU, NOT EVEN THE FAIRYTAIL WIZARDS AT THE HOSPITAL, SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL LINE UP NOW AND PREPARE TO BECOME MY DINNER!”

_He thinks mentioning there are Fairytail wizards here will make them want to run towards them_.

Happy and Carla were posing as civilians in the crowd; it was a whole act that Natsu had preplanned while we were in the store together.

He gives me the look and I begrudgingly spring into action and grab Carla and he tackles Happy.

The Exceeds start screaming loudly and flailing as I bite down on the little plastic fake blood capsule in my mouth and let it dribble out onto poor Carla. I really hope this doesn’t stain her fur!

“Ahh, I’m DYING! Oh the HORROR! THE HORROR! AHHHH!” Happy screams with over the top and bad acting.

But the people actually fall for this and start screaming in panic and running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

“RAWH...!” Natsu yells as he springs up and runs towards the crowd, waving his arms around like a lunatic as he spits out fire balls towards their feet to get them all moving in the right direction.

I try to do the same, but this outfit keeps riding up my backside, it’s so awkward to move around in, so I end up just guarding the side Natsu isn’t on to keep the sick people from getting off track, luckily they are just as afraid of him as they are of me.

It takes too long to get these people across town, but when we finally get them there it’s not soon _enough!_ I can’t wait to get out of these clothes and pretend I NEVER went out in public wearing them in the first place!

The people run right into the trap, through the opening of the ice dome and straight through the hospital doors, screaming franticly the whole way.

I see Gray get up and seal the entrance after the last person makes it inside, then he turns to us, maybe to tell us we did a good job but then he really _sees_ us, looks over me first, then Natsu.

“What’s with the getup?” He asks with a teasing grin.

“Why? You JEALOUS, droopy-eyes..?” Natsu honestly must think he looks good in this outfit because he sounds so _confident_.

“Psssh, _yeeah_! Who WOULDN’T be jealous of a snazzy outfit like that? And look at you guys, matching and everything. I’m SO jealous, I might just have to go out and get matching bunny costumes with Erza and Lucy just so we can show you guys up!” Gray jokes, snickering to himself, unaware of Natsu creeping up behind him.

He grabs both of Gray’s shoulders from behind and tells him in a threatening yet playful way, “But you know what wolves do to bunnies, right, Gray?”

“Are you tryin’ to pick a fight by threatening to eat me, Natsu?” Gray narrows his eyes and shrugs Natsu’s hands off and tries to take a few steps away but the other grabs him by the scarf--- _wait a second!_

My eyes nearly pop out of my head and my eyebrows shoot up as high as they go as realization hits me. That’s it! That’s what’s been different about Natsu these past few days! He isn’t wearing his scarf—but Gray is! Gray has on Natsu’s most precious procession! But that isn’t right! Dragon Slayers don’t share their treasures, especially ones with high emotional value!

But wait, something is different about how they’re interacting now, how come I didn’t notice it earlier? Its subtle things but they make a world of difference. Like their tone, it’s less fierce and more teasing; they smile at each other more, and even now! Natsu is crossing the border into Gray’s personal space by reaching up to flick his bangs out of his face. Their scents and body language remind me of Levy and Gajeel, and from what I know about them, they’re a couple and have underwent the secret art of Dragon Bond, so this must mean that the both of them are _together!_

“Staring is rude, child.” Carla’s voice startles me and I feel like I have a mini heart attack because of it!

“Carla, you scared me!” I blush furiously and pout, turning my back to Natsu and Gray to face my best friend.

“Goodness, what on Earth-Land were you daydreaming about that had you so off guard?”

Happy grins and chuckles deviously beside her, “I think _I_ know!”

Happy lands on my shoulder and cups his paws around my ear before whispering, “Did you notice our little love birds, finally?”

“Is it really true though, Happy?” I ask, finding it hard to believe now that both Natsu and Gray are fighting each other like any other day.

“I highly doubt it, just look at them.” Carla scoffs, gesturing to the pair as Natsu soccer punches Gray in the face, only to get elbowed in the ribs in turn.

I shake my head, there must be another reason Natsu let Gray borrow his scarf. They don’t seem very compile to me! I was being silly earlier and overthinking things!

“You’re right, Carla.” I tell her with a small laugh.

Happy pouts at us, “I’m telling you guys it’s true!

“ _Sure_.” Both Carla and I say in unison as we turn our backs to them and start walking away. I really want to change back into my normal clothes anyway and I don’t feel comfortable doing it in front of everyone.

 

\---


	11. X791-Present-Hurt pride and broken eyes

**October, 16 th, X791**

**Joya, Arcas City, Outskirts**

**Lucy Heartfila**

 

Before even getting to the forest I noticed something really strange about the city. Despite being so large it wasn’t very active, and there is this weird feeling I’ve been getting here, it’s almost like I’m walking through spider webs, but _not_ , it’s more of a strange, ominous feeling… whatever is here is definitely evil, for sure.

“Do you feel that, Lucy?” Erza asks with uneasiness in her voice as we reach start of the forest. That same feeling is intensified here. Almost like the whole area is covered in invisible cobwebs thick enough to suffocate in. It’s so dark and foggy in there that I can’t even see beyond the first line of trees.

I stand frozen behind Erza, clutching the back of her armor fearfully, “M-maybe we shouldn’t go in here…” I suggest, but she steps forward, taking me along with her despite me digging my heels into the dirt.

“Swallow your fear, Lucy. This is just a sign that we’re on the right track. I really want to do as she says but this feeling makes me more than uneasy!

I whimper and wrap my arms around her waist, looking behind us as she trudges on forward courageously.

The more fog that surrounds us, the stronger that dark presence gets, like it’s not just _one_ person or thing causing it, but something _all around us_.

“Do you feel like we’re being watched…?” I whisper, squeezing Erza tightly. I don’t want to get separated, if I let go somehow and I end up in this forest alone I just might have a heart attack.

\---

**October, 16 th, X791**

**Joya, Arcas City, Forest**

**Erza Scarlet**

 

My magic eye allows me to see things for what they are, so things that are typically cloaked with magic become visible and any sort of hallucination or visual trick goes unnoticed by me, for I see the truth.

But I know that Lucy doesn’t possess the same ability. I were to react and tell her about the creatures watching us it would most likely terrify her, so the fact that she isn’t freaking out despite looking right at them confirms that these creatures are magic and are cloaked.

I come to a stop and glare right into the eyes of the one before me, raising my hand I summon one of my swords and aim right at them, “Are you the ones causing the villagers to become ill!?” I demand robustly.

Lucy flinches at the suddenness and volume of my voice and looks at me from over the back of my shoulder, “Um, Erza… who are you talking to?” She asks quietly.

The cloaked one I have my eyes set on comes out from the shadows and stands before me.

“I am Sameal. It’s quite impressive that you are alive and healthy and can see me standing here.” He says tartly.

“Answer me NOW! Who are you people and what do you want with these villagers!?” I snap, tightening my hold on my sword. _This person… he isn’t human, all this dark energy is coming from him!_

“These are not people, Erza Scarlet. They are the souls of the villagers that have passed because of the plague, and now they are my eternal servants.”

I clench my teeth, _what is with this guy?!_

“Release them or suffer the consequences!” With my free hand I gently pry Lucy’s hand’s away from my torso and she seems to get the message and backs off on her own.

“Oh..? So you really intend to fight me? I’m not a mage, child, don’t you realize it yet? I am an Angel of Death, the deity Sameal. One touch and you will fall gravely ill, and a kiss will take your very life. Now leave matters that don’t concern you alone or you will join the rest of these villagers.”

_I won’t let his threats scare me!_

I launch at him full force and swing my blade down, he lifts his hand slowly and catches my blade between his index and middle finger with ease that has my blood boiling.

I requip another blade in my free hand and slash at him a second time where he is unguarded.

The blade goes right through him, cuts his robes, enters his body but he doesn’t even so much as flinch. He isn’t even bleeding!

“You cannot kill what isn’t alive.” After he says this both of my blades turn black and crumble into ashes, leaving only the hilts.

I’m too shocked to move. _He wasn’t bluffing, he really is a deity! No way… how can I defeat him when my attacks don’t even hurt him?_

“I like your attitude, so I’ll show you mercy, just this once.” Sameal says as a long war-hammer appears in his hand from out of nowhere, it reminds me of my requip.

Before I can blink, the flat end of that hammer is being smashed against the side of my face and knocking me violently through the forest.

My back hits a tree and it cracks and severs around my form, but I keep going, the force of that strike has me crashing through several trees before I finally land in a shallow swamp I’m not sure how far away from where I had originally been standing. I’m seeing red and my mouth tastes like copper.

My hands twitch and I try to move, get up to my hands and knees but as soon as I get on my hands the muck slips out from one of my hands and I land face first in the muck.

I brace myself on my elbow and spit out a mouthful of foul swamp water and blood.

I extend my other hand and summon another sword as well as my Empress Armor before shakily climbing to my feet—I don’t get to stay up for long before that same forceful hammer from before crashes into my ribcage with vengeance and my weapon as well as chunks of my armor go flying as well as my body.

Tumbling through the muck in my beaten state I can’t help but laugh bitterly, _this is what he calls mercy. He truly is evil._

My world is spinning out of control and I’m starting to get a bad case of tunnel vision, _not a good sign…_

 

\---

**October, 16 th, X791**

**Joya, Arcas City, Outskirts**

**Lucy Heartfila**

 

At first I thought Erza was playing a prank on me when she started talking to a tree, but things got pretty serious fast, and just when I was about to tell her to stop playing games, she goes flying through the forest as if something had hit her.

Frantically I run through the path her body cleared when she soared through the air, jumping over shrubbery and large chunks of bark as I screamed out her name, over and over but I didn’t get a response, not once.

 

…

 

“ERZA! ERZA PLEASE ANSWER ME!” On the brink of tears I search all around me, I’ve been running for so long, ten minutes and this path of devastation is still going on and I can’t see an end to it yet. How far did she go? Who did this to her?

My lungs are burning from the frigid air but I can’t bring myself to stop, I’m scared for Erza! I need to find her no matter what!

The further into the forest I go, the darker it gets and the thicker the fog is, it’s so hard to see, hard to keep up with where I’m going and what’s around me, all I know for sure is that I need to keep going forward and follow this path, at some point I entered a swamp but it never gets any deeper than above my ankles. The muck beneath the water is so sticky it makes running extremely difficult.

“ERZA..!” I call out again, breathless and stumbling over my own two feet. I catch myself on a nearby branch and regain my footing, rushing off again.

“I can’t… I c-can’t do this! I think I’m lost, I- I need…” I my labored breaths stop me from talking and I slow down to a walk, then gradually fall to my knees. _I need to stop and think, if whatever it is that hurt Erza is powerful enough to do this to her, what help will I be if I find her in a fight with it?_

I know just what to do. I catch my breath first, and then take on deep one in. _He’ll come… he always comes when I call him_.

 

\---

 

**October, 16 th, X791**

**Joya, Arcas City, Sacred Suns Hospital**

**Natsu Dragneel**

 

Erza has always been the most capable out of all of us, so despite her and Lucy being gone awhile I didn’t think anything of it. It’s _Erza_ after, I knew the two of them were just fine, and who knows? Maybe they are chasing a lead. Whatever it is! They’ll tell us about it when they get back.

Wendy had decided she didn’t want to sit around like Gray and I so she and Carla went to check out a local library in hopes of finding any lore or form of clue we could use to our advantage, and of course Happy followed after them. Whenever Carla is around I always feel like chopped liver in Happy’s eyes, little jerk.

Gray here decided to find a little shady spot in the opening of a dead-end alley way in front of the hospital and use his jacket as a pillow to take a nap on. He used up a lot of magical energy making this dome so I don’t blame him for needing some shut eye. So I sat guard right beside him.

The sun is starting to set when I feel a strange presence, it’s very distant but _dark_ , I don’t like it; whatever is causing it isn’t good at all. It makes me nervous and puts me on edge.

 _I don’t like him being asleep with this feeling in the air, it’s too dangerous_. I reach beside me and abruptly shake Gray’s shoulder.

“Wake up, asshole.” I say, when he doesn’t stir, I start patting his face, “That’s enough beauty sleep for you, Ice-Princess.”

His brows draw together and he makes a disdainful expression in his groggy state before rolling around to turn his back to me.

I huff, “Gray, don’t be such a drama queen!” I snap, leaning over him to look at his restful expression. _Did he really slip back under that fast?_

I sit back with a heavy sigh. _Danger is near, protect your mate,_ my inner dragon warns me, and I feel it the next instant. A strange pressure, my hairs start to stand on end and I bare my teeth, looking around cautiously. Above us, behind us, in front, anywhere someone could potentially attack. I don’t like this energy at all, how can it be a person when it doesn’t have a scent? This is dangerous. _What the hell is that?_

Then I hear it, it’s very distant but unmistakable, _that voice…!_

“( _NATSU.._!)”

It sets off alarm bells in my head and I spring to my feet, ready to run to Lucy’s aid but my inner dragon _forces_ me to halt and won’t let me go an inch further. _Your mate isn’t safe here_ , it cautions me, but then right after it says, _your kin is in danger, and you must go protect them!_

I fist my hands in my hair, torn both ways physically and emotionally. Another distant plea from the distance has me making up my mind.

I drop down to my knees beside Gray and pull him up into a sitting position and _that_ wakes him up, he blinks groggily at me as I turn my back to him.

“No time to explain, grab on, we need to go.” I demand it, it’s not a request and I think Gray senses that because he doesn’t argue with me and wraps his arms around my shoulders and his thighs squeeze at my waist as I haul him up and sprint out of the alley and towards the forest. _Erza, Lucy, I’m coming_!

“What’s happening?” Gray asks after a minute, sounding a little more awake now.

“I don’t know, but it isn’t any good!”

 

\---

 

**\----, --, X---**

**\---**

**Erza Scarlet**

 

“(Erza!)”

Lucy, is that you?

“(Erza, please answer me!)”

I’m right here, Lucy! I’m here… but, where is _here_?

Intense pain and hard, unforgiving metal, those are the last sensations I can remember feeling before numbness settled in and my vision failed me. I feel like a soul without a body, just floating endlessly in a never ending chasm of apathy.

“(ERZA! What happened to you..?!)” She sounds so close to me now, yet so far away. It's so strange.

Lucy, please run, it’s an Angel of Death, you won’t be able to fight this thing on your own, don’t worry about me, I’m here, I’m fine.

“(You’re going to be okay, Erza, I promise.)”

Lucy, we need to get out of this forest! Please hear me!

…

Lucy? Where did you go?

 

…

 

Please… say something!

 

Nothing comes, complete and utter silence, even my own thoughts are muted in this place.

“(Bastard..! How dare you hurt Erza! I’ll make you PAY!)”

Its Natsu… when did he get here? Natsu! Please, you must not fight him! Wait, how can Natsu even see him?

“(ARRGH..!)”

No..! Please, someone tell me he isn’t hurt! My dearest friend please be okay! I'm failing them! My friends! My Fairytail family! I'm going to lose them if I don't get up!

…

“(Natsu..! You can’t defeat him! But you can use this and it will trap him inside!)”

Wendy? How much time is passing by? What is she talking about, _trap him_? He’s a deity! How would she know how to do something like that?

“(How do you know it’ll work?!)” Lucy asks.

I wait for an answer, I’m curious too, but all I get is silence.

 

…

 

Does this mean it didn’t work? Whatever it is they tried to do? Are my friends hurt… or perhaps worse? How could I have been such a fool, I shouldn’t have entered the forest, I should have turned back and waited for the team to regroup, we should have stayed together to figure the mission out.

I need to get back to them, I need to help my friends, I need to wake up. I HAVE to wake up.

Work body! Get up NOW! Open your eyes, Erza!

I need to be there! I can't give up! I have to FIGHT for their sake! Damn body! I don't care if every bone is shattered, I HAVE to get up and protect them!

 

\---

 

I feel the world around me, my aching body, warm fabric covering my body as well as the constriction of bandages around my head and torso. Both my hands are covered with warmth, two separate and very different hands squeezing my own. I test my body first, starting with my eyes. It _feels_ like I’m blinking, but everything is dark, just as it had been before. _The bandaging_ , it must be wrapped around my eyes. I wrinkle up my nose; and then focus on my hands, my fingers squeeze around the hands holding mine.

“Lucy, she’s awake, her eyes are open!” Wendy elates from the left of me, and I squeeze her hand gently, _so this is her_ , and the other must be Lucy. I give hers a squeeze as well.

My heart drops, _if she knows I opened my eyes, then, doesn’t that mean there isn’t anything wrapped around them?_

I can wiggle my toes, I feel them curl and uncurl and I can bend my knees. _I’m awake, but I can’t see_.

“It’s ok, Erza, don’t cry. We contacted the master, we’re on our way back to Fairytail right now, we’ll be there in a few days. Porlyusica is already there by now preparing a treatment for you.” Lucy tells me as she strokes my hair with her free hand.

My lips part, and I realize then how dry they are and how my throat feels very much the same, “B..but what about the mission?” I ask hoarsely.

“Everything is just fine, Natsu got himself pretty banged up thanks to that Sameal jerk, but we put a stop to him.” Lucy tells me with a reassuringly happy tone.

“How..?” I ask with a bit of desperation, it was the question that had circled my mind countless times during my slumber.

“While I was doing research in the library this strange man appeared in front of me with an urn, he said if I did an incantation while aiming the opening at Sameal that he would get trapped inside. He had a really good vibe about him, and I knew right away he was telling the truth,” Wendy explains proudly.

“And what happened with the urn?” I ask, clearing my throat right after, my head is lifted up by one of the girls and something cool is brought to my lips. The refreshing swish of water crashes against my lip like waves on a hot beach, I part them and allow the waves to be pulled in, swallowing it all down greedily until only droplets remained and I was left breathing a little erratically. It must have been awhile since I've had a decent glass of water.

After the container is pulled away from me I get the answer to my question; “The same man reappeared and took it, he said he promises that Sameal won’t be bothering us or anyone ever again, and then he vanished… it was really strange.” Lucy tells me.

Something wasn’t adding up though… if they defeated him and everything is fine as they say then why aren’t we on a train? I may not be able to see but I can hear the creak of carriage and the occasional squeaking coming from the wheels.

“Why are we on a carriage?” I ask weakly, turning my head towards Lucy for an explanation.

“Well…” Lucy starts with a nervous tremor, rubbing the back of my hand with her thumb anxiously, “Natsu… sort of destroyed most of the city while he and Gray were fighting that guy… _including_ the train station…”

“The villagers were so thankful that we cured them they insisted that we take reward money, but after what we did to their homes we couldn’t take it… but they insisted so we told them to take out as much as they needed to rebuild the city and give us the rest and a carriage they could spare…” Wendy finishes explaining for Lucy.

“How much did we earn?” I ask, _it would cost quite a bit to rebuild a city like that, if those two fools truly did destroy it all_.

“Five yen each,” Carla sighs from beside Wendy, “But they were extremely generous people and gave us enough supplies to make it home, we thanked them for their kindness, of course.”

“Yeah, plus Natsu and Gray helped them clean up a bit while you were in intensive care at the hospital for the first few days!” Happy elates from somewhere past my feet.

My heart swells with pride at hearing all this. Even though I was unable to be by their sides, they all chose to do the right thing in the end. _It must have been a sight to see, my boys working together to help those people. Usually I have to force them to do something like help clean up the disaster they caused_.

The moment of pride ends when my ears tune into distant bickering, an all too familiar sound grating against my eardrums. I’m not exactly sure what it is they are disputing about because it seems like they are on the outside of the carriage, I think Natsu may be walking, otherwise I don’t think he would be responding so loudly otherwise.

“Have they been fighting the whole time I’ve been asleep?” I ask sadly. I really hate to hear them fight, they’re best friends, and they shouldn’t act the way they are now.

“Unfortunately yes…” Wendy sighs with displeasure.

 _I should put a stop to their nonsense; they have disturbed the peace for far too long_! I move to sit up but two pairs of hands push me back down and speak at the same time, both telling me to stay down and rest.

“I need to make those fools behave,” I tell them earnestly.

“You really don’t! Honest, they are getting along just fine!” Lucy assures me with a laugh that makes me feel like she’s hiding something, _probably the fact that they are NOT getting along_.

“How can I believe you when I can clearly hear them bickering?” I ask apathetically, glaring in Lucy’s direction.

“I think I know something that will cheer you up, but… I’m not actually supposed to tell—although this is a special situation!”

I was about to tell her to spit it out already when I feel her hand brush my hair behind my ear before forming a cup around it and bringing her lips close, “They are secretly seeing each other.”

I bust up laughing, doing so makes my ribs hurt but it’s too good of a joke to _not_ laugh!

“I’m serious..! Didn’t you notice before? Gray was wearing Natsu’s scarf, isn’t that enough proof?” Lucy asks me in a hushed one as her hands fall from my ear.

I swallow my laughter and my jaw drops slightly as the memory pops into my mind, “Maybe they’re pulling a prank,” I suggest.

“Nope..!” Happy chimes in; sounding much closer than he had been, “I was there with him and Lisanna when Natsu had a _major_ meltdown over Gray and I’ve personally heard Gray confess he had feelings for Natsu! It’s all true, Erza!”

 _Happy doesn’t usually lie, not to me at least, so as bazar as it is, it has to be true_. A smile tugs at my lips and I wish I could see just so I could pop my head out of the carriage and look at them, see it for myself.

 

\---

 

I’m not sure when I fell asleep, but when I regain consciousness the first thought on my mind is that I forgot to ask how much time had passed, I wake to the feeling of strong arms gently lifting me up bridal style with my head drooping against a bare shoulder. Judging from the chill I feel it has to be Gray but my cheek is brushing against some fabric, _what is this if he isn’t wearing a shirt?_ I reach out a hesitant hand, I don’t want to accidentally poke him in the eyes and I feel around for the source of the softness, once it’s between my fingers I give it a testing rub, _I know this texture_ , _its Natsu’s muffler_.

I’m pretty sure that right now, I can get away with whatever I want, so I decide to do some close up investigating, I’m not sure how much good it’ll do with only my sense of touch, but what could it hurt?

“You awake, Erza?” Gray asks me, I hear something shift, like the wagon creaking, followed by heavy boots dropping onto a gravely ground.

“A little, how long have I been out? In total I mean,” I say, and then I wonder if he got hurt during the fight, so I reach up to brush my fingertips against his chin, feel along his face gently for anything out of the ordinary. I find a bandage under his right eye, and judging from a wince he makes when I ouch his nose, it’s probably bruised or broken. He keeps walking despite my investigating.

“Before today? five days now, and after you woke up you fell back asleep for a few hours, but it’s getting dark so we decided to set up camp here for the night, Wendy, and Carla are out looking for a type of plant Porlyusica told us to be on the lookout for in this area. She says it’ll help heal your injuries. Lucy and Happy are out trying to find something to make for dinner, which is probably going to end up being some kind of fish, pretty exciting right?” Gray asks as he shifts me in his arms slightly before stepping over something.

“And Natsu..?” I ask, touching the side of Gray’s jaw now.

“He went ahead to make a comfy spot for you in the tent,” While Gray is talking I trail my curious touch lower, beneath the scarf, I didn’t actually expect to feel anything, but I _do_ , a series of rough and awkward scabs, it kind of reminds me of a bite mark with the way it’s shaped, but there are too many marks for it to be just _one_ bite.

“Did you get bitten?” I ask, feeling around the rest of his neck for more scabs but I only find smooth skin.

“Uh… kind of…”

I grab a hold of Natsu’s scarf and give it a light tug, “And is _this_ Natsu’s scarf?”

“Uuuuum….yes..?” He says hesitantly, as if he were answering a test question and wasn’t sure what the right answer was.

I press the back of my knuckles to Gray’s cheeks before asking my next question, “Did _Natsu_ bite you, Gray?” The feverish skin under my touch is all the answer I need. I smile with satisfaction and slide my hand up his face to ruffle his hair.

…

When Gray finally sets me down, it’s on a pillow-like surface and I’m aware of a second presence in the area, which I assume is the tent Gray had been talking about.

I hold my hand out, feeling blindly until my fingers brush up against warm skin, _muscular but thin,_ it must be his bicep. It feels like he has a bandage wrapped around _here_. I trail my hand up until I could place my palm against what I assumed was Natsu’s face to find another bandage on his chin. I feel the shape of his mouth is turned down in a frown. _Is he upset_?

“What’s bothering you, Natsu?” I ask curiously.

He huffs, a moment of silence passes then he speaks, “I’m pissed about that guy. How the hell was he so powerful? He was practically throwing me around like a ragdoll. I couldn’t protect anyone.”

I hear Gray groan, “Natsu would you STOP beating yourself up about it already? I’m SERIOUSLY going to strangle you! We all did our best, but the honest truth is he was just out of our league!”

“No, Gray! I WON’T STOP, because he ALMOST took the lives of all the people I care most about because I wasn’t strong enough!”

“Knock it off, Natsu! Nobody blames you! We’re all pissed off that he kicked our asses, but in the end we outsmarted him and he lost, that’s all that matters, okay?!” Gray retaliates.

“Don’t you understand, Gray? _I_ FAILED to defeat someone and it almost costed the lives of my kin, and my mate! So don’t go telling me it’s ok when it isn’t! If Wendy hadn’t gotten that urn we would all be six feet under!”

My hand falls from Natsu’s face when I realize I had just become a third party in a very intimate conversation that I’m probably not supposed to be here for, yet at the same time I found it extremely interesting, out of all the arguments I’ve been forced to listen to between these two, none of them have been because one couldn’t protect the other. _Natsu called Gray his mate just now, didn’t he?_ He’s obviously upset that he couldn’t swoop in to our rescue like he usually does, but even I agree with Gray, he’s being too hard on himself.

“Look…” Gray’s voice softens, and the way he bends over me makes me wonder if he’s touching Natsu in some way, perhaps his cheek, or maybe holding his hand, “Don’t dwell on what _almost_ happened, we’re all alive and well. Erza is here, Lucy and Wendy, Happy and Carla, and me…! We all came through in the end, so we must have been doing something right. Instead of thinking about this as a failure, why don’t you try to learn from it? Use it as determination to train harder, okay, Natsu?”

Part of me expects Natsu to get angry at that, but he doesn’t, he stays quiet and I hear him breath out a gentle sigh.

“You’re right, Gray. I’m sorry for being such a jerk about it this whole time.”

Did I fall asleep? This has to be a dream! How can this be reality? Natsu just told Gray he’s RIGHT? And he apologized? _Where am I?_

“Yeah, but your _my_ jerk, come here!” Gray says and I hear some shifting after, followed by a clasp of a hand against fabric and… I think patting? Maybe a hug, patting each other’s backs..? I might be wrong though, they could be shaking hands. I can’t be certain, although, I could let my imagination run wild and just make up my own entertainment. If I somehow fell into a different universe when that Angel of Death hit me where Natsu and Gray are lovers and they get along like just now, I could get used to this.

 

\---


	12. X791-Present-Don't eat something if you don't know what it is

**October, 21 st, X791**

**Illa, Nostra Valley**

**Natsu Dragneel**

 

When Gray releases me from his comforting arms to sit back on the other side of Erza I catch myself wandering off in thought again.

Even though I agreed with Gray about this mission not being a failure on my part, I still felt extremely guilty, how could I not when Erza is lying here in the state she’s in? I grasp her hand firmly and squeeze it. _I should have been with her, if I had been maybe I could have stopped that jerk from doing this to my friend_.

Everyone on our team has taken an oath; none of us are to tell Erza the severity of the damage, if she knew what she looked like right now she just might panic. It’s hard to tell she’s even Erza. Her face is all torn up and her nose is broken pretty badly, her fake eye got lost in the swamp, so there isn’t anything there, her other eye is pretty banged up, it doesn’t even have color anymore. She has a total of seventeen stitches on her face, twelve holding closed the gash beneath her left eye, and five more across her nose.

She actually looks a lot better than she did a few days ago, Wendy has been busy focusing on healing her internal wounds but now that she isn’t in danger of anything inside going wrong the wind-mage has taken away a lot of the smaller cuts and dark bruising that had been marring Erza’s face before, and because of one of Wendy’s enchantments Erza won’t be able to feel the full extent of her injuries… until it wears off at least.

Erza’s eyes flicker over to me and for a moment I tense up and try to force a smile so won’t see I’m stewing in my thoughts, but then I remember she _can’t_ see me.

“Forgive me for eavesdropping, but I heard you refer to Gray as your _mate_ , care to elaborate?” She chuckles lightly with a bright smile.

“Uhhh…” I can’t think of what to say!

My eyes spring open wide and my breath catches in my throat, _I forgot she was here listening when I said that!_ I scratch the back of my neck nervously as I flick my gaze up to for back up, _throw me a line here,_ my eyes plead, but Gray shrugs his shoulders with a look that tells me _you’re on your own._

Stupid frosty jerk!

“How long have you been hiding this from me, boys..?” Erza asks, glaring at the space past my head, but I know that look is meant for me, so with a sigh, I scoot a half inch over so the full extent of her steely gaze hits its target.

I get an unpleasant shiver up my spine and goosebumps on my arms as my hair falls into my eyes.

A bead of sweat forms on my brow as I stare back into blank eyes and all the guilt and shame I was feeling earlier for failing her resurfaces, I can’t lie to her, not today.

I rub away the bumps on my arm and shift my legs into a crossed position, jerking my head to the side to get my bangs out of the way before speaking, “Um… it’s a very _recent_ development, we haven’t told anyone about it yet,” I pause, grabbing my bangs and pulling them up, then summon heat into my fingers to keep it in place so the damn thing will quit falling in my face like a nescience, “…I kind of wanted to get used to just… _being_ with Gray first, for personal reasons… It’s a little complicated for me.”

Erza’s grin makes the nervous twisting in my stomach stop instantly.

“I’m very excited about this _development_! I understand you Natsu, I know how you are, we’ve been friends for too many years for me to not know you have issues in these regards. I’m happy that you’re moving past them, it’s a big step for you but I just know it’ll be worth it.” Erza’s happiness is infectious, I find myself smiling along with her and unable to contain the mirthful fluttering in my chest.

“Since we’re on the subject, how about I put you in the spotlight for a second, what’s with you and Jellal, huh, Erza..?” I ask mischievously, I know perfectly well that those two have pretty strong feelings for each other, it’s impossible NOT to notice! Especially with my senses!

That gets her cheeks pink, she bites her lip to suppress a smile and she looks away from me.

“Natsu don’t be cruel…” Gray sighs from where he’s been on the sidelines watching our exchange the whole time.

Erza clears her throat, still as red as a strawberry, “It’s alright, Gray. To answer your question, Natsu, Jellal and I have been seeing each other off and on for a few months now… b-but it’s nothing serious, _yet_ …!”

I chuckle, ruffling her hair playfully, “You kiss ‘em yet?” I ask with intrigue, her heart is pounding now.

Gray shoots me a dirty look but I ignore him.

“Aah… just a few times. Now, what about you..?” Erza asks me in turn, shifting onto her side carefully so she can face me.

I tilt my head to a side and snicker a little, what kind of silly question is that?

“Why would I want to kiss Jellal?”

I hear skin slapping skin and look up to see Gray’s palm against his forehead, “What’s your deal?” I ask, arching a brow at him.

“She isn’t talking about _Jellal_ , yah idiot!” Gray cries out with exasperation, and Erza breaks out in a fit of giggles, covering her mouth with her hand and holding her side with the other.

“What..? You weren’t?” I ask, genuinely thrown off. _Who is she talking about then? Was she offering to kiss me or something?_

“I was asking if _you_ and _Gray_ have kissed yet!” Erza laughs as she slaps at my thigh playfully.

I grin at her, _so that’s what she meant! Ok, I admit it, that wasn’t one of my brighter moments_!

“Of course..!” I elate with a huge grin and she sports one of her own. _I really like how happy she is about this! It’s amazing to see her smile!_

“He’s a terrible kisser.” Gray chimes in.

My jaw drops as his words STAB me in the back, I shoot him a glare and he smirks at me, “I am NOT!” I shout defensively. _Gray is so full of it!_

Erza’s blush increases and she seems to be thinking about something, and then she hits her fist against her palm and states, “I think Jellal could use some improvement as well. We will have to practice more with them, Gray.”

While those two laugh at mine and Jellal’s expenses, I join them with the fakest laugh I can muster, “HA, HA. HA. You’re a comedian _Gray_!”

He winks at me, “My next showing will be at seven thirty, thickets are fifty yen a pop.” Erza thinks he’s funny, but I don’t. _How dare he insult my skills! I’m a GREAT kisser!_

“Those are some pretty outrageous prices just to see a talking ice cube.” I grumble, I would have confronted him further on his outrageous claims but I catch Wendy and Carla’s scent nearby. Little girls don’t need to be hearing stuff like that, so I let it slide, for now.

Wendy pops her head in the tent a moment later with Carla on her shoulder, looking a little upset. I move to get up, intending on taking her outside to talk to her because she keeps looking from Gray, to me, then back to Erza like she has something she doesn’t want to say in front of her.

“Um, Gray, can I talk to you out here for a minute?” She manages to keep her voice even and casual, but I can detect an emotion behind it, _embarrassment?_

“Uhh, yeah… Sure thing, Wendy…” Gray sends me a questioning look before climbing to his feet and heading out of the tent.

“Is Wendy alright? She sounds upset.” Erza asks me, reaching out blindly for my hand I notice, so I move it closer to where she’s reaching so she can take it herself. She squeezes it for reassurance that I’m still here.

“Nah, she’s fine!” I assure Erza with a bright grin, _wait, that’s right, she can’t see_ , although she seems to smile back at me.

“If you say so…”

 

…

 

They are gone for about two minutes before Wendy comes back in the tent first with Carla resting on her back and takes a seat by Erza, _she looks grim…_

Gray parts the fabric of the tent entrance back and makes a gesture with a jerk of his head that reminds me an awful lot like a horse trying to disobey its rider. _Why is he doing that_? I just shook my head at him and looked across from me at Wendy, but she’s looking down at her lap like a gloomy little flower in the rain.

“Would you get your dumb ass out here..?” Gray asks sourly.

I glare over my shoulder at him and scoff, “Erza is in NO condition to be at your beck and call, _Gray_! How could you be so RUDE..?”

Gray’s eyebrows do a familiar tug downwards with the addition of the little nostril flare he does when he’s getting angry, “I was talkin’ about YOU, yah jack ass!”  

“Well now the only reason I’m gonna come out there is to kick YOUR ass!” I retort, I gently release Erza’s hand and place it back on her stomach before getting up while grumbling to myself angrily, my sore knees cracking and my feet tingling with numbness, _stupid Gray! How dare he be so rude to me and call me an ass! I’m far more than JUST an ass! I have an entire body and I don’t appreciate him labeling me as a big old booty with legs!_

Trying to walk with this pins and needles feeling in both my feet probably makes me look like I have ants in my pants or something, but I’m determined, I have a knuckle sandwich with Gray’s name all over it! _PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY! THIS NUMBNESS IS NOTHING!_

_GAH!_

_AH!_

_AAAH!_

_BREATHE,_

_KEEP IT IN, NATSU! DON’T SHOW HIM YOU’RE IN AGONY!_

“You’re threatening ME when your legs are so numb you can’t even take one step without wincing, ooooooh! I’m _terrified_ , Natsu.” Gray drones out dully with a roll of his eyes.

“DON’T PATRONIZE ME!” I shout at him furiously as I take another painful step. At least the numbness is starting to wear off in my right foot.

With a heavy sigh, Gray turns his gaze from me to Wendy and Erza just beyond, “We’ll be back in a while, Natsu and I are gonna go get some wood, Wendy will be here to keep you company, Erza.” Gray tells her as he waits for me.

“Why should I help _you_ with anything?” I snap, but Gray completely ignores me, and Erza’s sudden giggle-fit throws me off so much that I forget about the verbal battle I’m having with Gray.

I look back over my shoulder at her and pause, lifting one of my legs off the ground to shake out the pins and needles. Her laugh is contagious and I can’t resist joining her in it!

“What’s so funny?!” I chuckle at her.

“What _kind_ of wood..? For camp or _each other.._?!” She asks between fits of giggles, and at first I was laughing with her until what she said sunk in and hit me like a mallet on the head.

_She’s suggesting Gray and I are gonna go have…!_

Wendy’s face turns just as red as my own but she tries to pretend she didn’t just hear that! Carla only sighs and puts her paws over her best friend’s ears.

I think Gray can see me boiling like a pot of water ready to spew over, so he grabs me by the forearm and starts dragging me out of there, I still yell out what I got to say; “FOR _CAMP_ , ERZA..! GET YOUR HEAD OUTTA THE GUTTER!”

I hear her laughing as Gray pulls me away from camp and towards the tree line.

Away from the tent now, I shoot a glare at Gray; I still haven’t forgotten that he was a jerk to me, what with the whole _lying_ about my kissing skills thing and calling me an ass! So I reach over and slug him right in the shoulder, but he ignores it as if he’d just had a moth land on him.

“At least she’s in a good mood.” Gray says as he continues to hold me at the bend of my elbow.

My features soften, _He’s right, I’m glad Erza is happy and not completely miserable. We made her laugh at least._

I perk back up, I still have to confront him! “Yeah… but I STILL have words for you, _liar_.” I say with bite in my tone.

I look over my shoulder, checking our surroundings to make sure nothing was around us except for the dark forest before I shrug his grip off me to hook my arm around his instead and hold it close to my chest.

He does that awkward nervous laugh he uses whenever he’s flustered and then answers me, “What? About the bad kisser thing..? I was bein’ honest.”

“Oh _really_ now..?” I squeeze his arm threateningly.

“Yeah _really…!_ You’re pretty rough, just look at my lip, it’s STILL bruised up, see!” Gray stops us and turns to lean towards me and use his free hand to drag his lip down to expose a scab I left on the inside when I bit him a few days ago. He lets his lip go and we start walking again, but I’m too lost in my thoughts to pay attention to where.

Ok I’m not going to deny I did that, because I DID… honestly I didn’t realize I was being so rough that he didn’t enjoy my smooches.

I frown as I look at the side of Gray’s face as we walked in relative quietness, aside from the occasional crunch and snap of a leaf or twig. _Am I really that bad_? My thoughts are taken over by my inner dragon; his loud roar interrupts my current train of thought so he can get his two cents in. _You’re disappointing your mate, you have yet to satisfy him, and you are a failure because of it_!

Yes, _THANK YOU_ , inner dragon..! I needed that boast of confidence. But it’s true… I haven’t fulfilled the entire bonding process. One step remains and despite trying, Gray just doesn’t seem to EVER get turned on no matter WHAT I do when we’re in private. I mean, I’m pretty sure he isn’t, I never feel him get all… _bothered_ in his pants region when we’re kissing. Maybe he just isn’t attracted to me? Or are my kissing skills so bad he just kind of suffers through it? Or could it be that the timing just isn’t right..?

Gray draws me from my thoughts by blowing in my ear, which causes an electric feeling to shoot up my spine and make me whip my head around to stare at him with disbelief. _This asshole can get me going from small things like THAT? What’s the deal!?_

“Aw, what’s with that pouty face, Natsu? I’m only teasing you, yah know.” Gray says as he reaches over to lightly ruffle my hair.

“I wasn’t pouting…” I mutter, looking away from Gray to stare off at a dark little shrub we pass by.

Gray laughs at me as he shrugs off my grip to instead put his arm over my shoulder and pull me close to him while we continued on through the forest trail, “Sure, but for the record, kissing you is one of my new favorite things to do, you could just be a little gentler sometimes though, I don’t mind when your rough, just show some mercy for my lips every now and then, will yah?”

“I’ll consider it,” I say playfully with a contemplative hum while wedging my arm behind him to hold around his waist. I feel better after hearing him say that, but part of me still wonders if he’s even interested in… my body, and _whatever_..! This is stupid stuff to think about. I should just stop.

Then his words from earlier circle around back to me, where he had told Erza we were going, but it doesn’t seem like we’re getting firewood, I mean we just passed a nice fallen log and these trees would be fairly easy to knock down.

“So Gray, are we _really_ getting firewood because we’re passing by plenty of good trees.” I point out as I rub my fingers against the bare skin of his hip subtly. His skin is really nice, I really like how cold it is, it’s a really nice contrast against my skin since I’m _always_ hot.

“No, Wendy found that plant we need but since its dark her and Carla got scared half way to it and ran off because they thought a wild animal was stalking them. She was pretty embarrassed about it so I made up the firewood story.” Gray explains while shifting his hand from my opposite shoulder to the back of my neck, he rubs against the skin there with his thumb and I shrug up my shoulders, it feels so nice but awkward while trying to focus on walking. _So he wants to play it this way does he..? A silent battle it is then!_

“Don’t we still need the firewood though?” I ask, gently scrapping my fingernails against the curve in his hip and his body reacts instantly to it, arching away from the touch and shivering involuntarily. _He must be ticklish here! I’ll make him laugh in no time!_

“N-no…” Gray shutters while I continue tracing patterns on his hip, “We still h-have some… o… on the—ah! Natsu will you knock it off..? I can’t concentrate wi-with you doing that!” Gray’s face is turning a lovely shade of red and I feel mine doing the same as I realize that I’ve just discovered something. _Gray’s hips are sensitive, and not just in the ticklish way!_

I bite my lip as a carnal desire arises, _I wonder if he’d like it if I kissed him there_ _and what would it feel like to kiss apart of him that isn’t his neck or lips?_

I let my grip slip off him and shrug his arm off my shoulder as well before coming to a stop, he does too and looks at with furrowed brows and his lips pressed together in a thin line.

He looks like he’s going to ask me something but I beat him to it.

“Can we pause for a second?” I ask, staring down at my scuffed up boots.

“What for..? You wanna get naughty in the forest like Erza suggested?” He jokes, _but actually that’s exactly what I want to do_.

I look up at him and nod, my entire face from my neck up feeling feverishly hot, I’m too embarrassed to ask it out loud and I’m not sure why. We’re alone and it’s just _Gray_ … maybe it’s because this is the first time I’ve ever asked him something like this or it could be my insecurities from earlier getting to me.

Gray blinks owlishly, face burning up and his heart thumping with a new erratic pace, “Um… I guess it _depends_..? Like… how _far_ do you wanna… mess around?”

Honestly I want him _completely_ and I have since I claimed him, but I have self-control, I can keep in check, its easiest when we are around others, but when we are alone, just like we are here, the amount of will power it takes me to just not touch him in any way is _insane_. It’s because of the dragon nature inside of me wanting to complete the _mating process_ ; I’m not typically sex-crazed I SWEAR!

“I dunno…” I answer him in a lust induced daze, eating up his bare chest with my eyes. _This is the first time he’s stripped in a few days, maybe he’s less self-conscious now that the marks I left are starting to heal up… I’m actually surprised that he hasn’t lost my scarf yet. Lucky for him, otherwise I’d go to prison for murder._

I’m grabbing him by the shoulders before realizing I was even walking towards him. He’s studying my eyes with intrigue, “Just… not _all_ the way…” Gray tells me, and I only nod in response.

I lean up and capture those wonderfully cool lips, I recall what Gray told me and I pace myself, but find I don’t know how to do this the way he wants me to, so I part my lips and slide just the very tip of my tongue against his, a teasing gesture _and_ an invitation. We haven’t gone this far yet, with kisses they’re usually close mouthed between us, (mostly because we were too worried about Erza to want anything else.)

His tongue is warm despite his outside body temperature. It swipes across mine and I outwardly _moan_ , my jaw opens more for him and I allow him to have all the control and it doesn’t even bother me for once.

I clutch his shoulders and bring my body closer, pressing my pelvis against his and I do a teasing little slide of my hips while I suck his tongue lewdly.

He groans into my mouth before breaking off our kiss, but doesn’t pull away, I thought he might have something to say, but he grabs my chin between his thumb and forefinger and turns my head to the side and trails kisses along my jaw to my earlobe, he blows icy air against a wet spot he made and chuckles like a devious bastard when it causes me to shiver involuntarily, _cheap move, Gray_.

He takes my earlobe between his teeth and lightly grinds it in odd circular shapes. Such a thing shouldn’t be affecting me the way it is, but I’m losing my composure fast, a little whine escapes me (that I will deny later) and Gray releases my ear to instead lick around the edge of it with the tip of his tongue.

_What does something this silly feel so good?_

“Auhh… G-Gray wh...?” I can’t get out my words, he attaches his mouth to my neck and reduces me to a sputtering mess and I don’t even care anymore about the sounds I’m making as long as he keeps doing _that_ with his teeth!

I don’t notice his hands found their way up into my shirt until his cold fingers ghost over the curve on both sides of my hips at the same time and I gasp softly. _So my hips are sensitive too_.

“You’re so noisy, Natsu…” With his mouth on me still Gray’s laughter vibrates against my throat pleasantly as he moves to kiss another spot closer to my collar bone.

“Then shut me up…” I mutter half-coherently.

“Nah, I like it, can’t you tell?” He smirks against my skin as he eases his hips forward and I feel something hard against my hipbone. _I want that inside me right now!_ I bite my lip and blush brightly at my thoughts.

Gray’s hands move up my body to my chest, rising my jacket and shirt up with it. His cool thumbs brush up against my nipples impishly before his touch trails down my front then back around my waist and down my back before coming to a stop on the curve of my ass where he gives each cheek a playful squeeze. _Of course, why am I not surprised_?

If Gray hadn’t said he didn’t want to go all the way, I would probably bend over a stump and just let him have me, _but he doesn’t want that_. Maybe he could have had a change of heart though?

I cup his face in my hands and kiss him with all my pent up desire, hot, wet, my tongue slipping between his lips toying around with his. My hands slide from his cheeks to around his neck, one forming a fist in his hair and the other droops lazily over the back of his shoulder.

Gray’s turn to suck my lip, but he doesn’t bite it the way I had, how he does it leaves me blushing harder than before and leaning in for another kiss.

Breaking off for air, our labored breaths mingle, “Are you _sure_ you don’t want to get naughty right _here_ with me, Gray?” I mumble with a husky tone that sounds foreign even to me and it’s my own voice!

Gray kisses me again, close mouthed and hums softly against my lips, “I _want_ to, Natsu… but it’s _outside_ , and it’ll be messy and awkward, plus I kind of want to take a shower before we go _that far_ …”

He’s right about the shower thing, not a single one of us has been able clean up decently since being on the road. We found a lake a day ago and we jumped in it, but lakes aren’t exactly hygienic. Being a little rugged doesn’t bother me, it’s not like we’ve been outside for MONTHS collecting the essence of nature on our skins.

We could always clean up in the river before going back, with that in mind, I try to entice him into changing his mind, “I don’t mind getting all hot and sticky because of you…” I pull away enough to look at his face and find it’s exactly what I wanted. He’s flabbergasted that I said something so blunt. I grin widely and cup his face again, bringing it down to kiss.

He breaks it off though and slides his hands back up to hold my waist, and then smooches my forehead before taking a step away from me, holding his hands out, palms up, in front of him as a sign of surrender, but not the kind I was hoping for.

“Sorry, Natsu… but you’re gonna have to wait.” He tries to sound firm so I get the message that the answer is _no_ and he won’t change his mind.

I figured he wouldn’t so I’m not too bummed out, besides I got to make him blush _and_ I gave him a boner. I’m taking this as a victory.

“Okay, so…” I trail off, thinking back on what we were in the forest for to begin with, “We’re looking for that healing flower, right?” My voice is a little uneven, shaken from our activities and my body is still reacting strongly too them as well.

I guess I need to think about my _special_ mental image so I can calm down, and judging from the sour look on Gray’s face he has his own that seems to work wonders… I wonder what his version of _mental cold shower_ is? Wait, if the cold doesn’t bother him, does he even take cold showers when he’s in a situation like this?

“Uh, yeah, Wendy said it’ll be just up here, and that she broke branches on her way there to mark her path, that’s what I’ve been following before _you_ interrupted me.” He says accusingly as he turns a shoulder to me.

“Alright, let’s go then!” I say cheerily, walking beside him, but careful not to touch him now since we both need to cool off for a while.

I let my mind go blank for a bit as I fold my arms behind my head, staring up at the starry night sky through the openings between the tree canopies above us. One thought still keeps coming back into my mind though, like an annoying little tune that gets stuck on replay.

My mouth runs before I can catch it, “Gray, what do you think about to turn yourself off?”

Gray turns, walking backwards as he gives me an odd look, “Is THAT what you’ve been thinking about? I was wondering why you got so quiet.” He says with a smirk.

“So will yah tell me?” I ask with a curious tilt of my head. _I wonder if it’s anything like an image of Juvia laying in his bed wearing a thong and hamburger buns over her breasts, because I know THAT would really take me out of the mood._

“I guess? It’s just something that’s always worked for me… I always think about those times Erza would force us to take baths together.”

My jaw drops and so do my arms, “NO WAY! YOU’RE KIDDING ME RIGHT?” I shriek, fisting my hands in my hair.

He shakes his head and shrugs, “Nope, is it weird?”

“YES! BECAUSE I THINK ABOUT THE _SAME_ THING..! _”_ I really can’t control the volume of my voice right now!

Gray’s expression fills with the same shock mine probably has and he gawks at me for a moment before shouting back at me, “THIS CAN’T BE REAL!”

“Do you remember when she would fart in the bath water and FORCE US to stay in there afterwards!?” I ask as the memory pops into mind. She was such a rude kid!

Gray chokes on a laugh, “YES! Do YOU remember the time she used those metal sponges on us!?”

I gasp as the memories come flooding back to me, I had almost forgot about the metal sponges! “OH THAT WAS THE WORST TIME!” I yell, tossing my head back.

“I HATED THOSE BATHS!” Gray yells at me in turn

I look at him and state loudly, “I CAN’T EVEN ENJOY TAKING MY OWN BATHS!”

“ME EITHER!” He hollers back.

The two of us crack up after that, he falls in tow with me and throws an arm over my shoulder, both of us laughing hard enough to bust a gut!

I wipe a tear from my eye, “Ooh, good times!” I chuckle.

Gray pats me on the back affectionately, “Heheh, yeah they were!”

As I’m whipping my tears off on my sleeve I notice Gray staring at me from the corner of my eye, but I don’t pay much attention to it, he stares at me a lot more openly now so it’s starting to become less unusual.

“Hey, how come you always cry when you laugh?” He asks me curiously.

I shrug my shoulders, “It’s always been this way, I think my eyes are just laughing with me, but since they don’t make noise, they just leek with joy!” I flash a grin at him and try to hold back another barrage of giggles, but it comes bubbling out of me anyway.

“Cute,” Gray says with one last pat to my shoulder before dropping his hand back to hang by his side, “Look ahead,” He says.

I turn my attention from him to the opening through the trees in front of us, through it I could make out faint glowing spots in the grass, the closer we get, the more I can make out. the spots are flowers! Those must be what we need!

I hurry out there to see the medicinal flowers up close. I think it’s pretty awesome how a plant is capable of healing a person’s serious injuries! I wonder what they taste like?

I drop to my knees before a bed of the glowing flowers and pluck one, bring it to my open mouth and drop it in; they’re pretty small so it doesn’t take much effort. Once it’s on my tongue I close my mouth and focus on the texture and flavor. It’s actually pretty good, it’s really sweet, but not overpoweringly so. There is tartness to it as well. After swallowing, the magic within the flower seems to do something funny to my stomach, but not in a bad way, it kind of tickles, and leaves a warm afterglow, but only for a second, so fast I wasn’t sure that it really happened, so I pluck another flower to test it.

After a second, I think, maybe I should eat a third, just to be sure, and a fourth to be REALLY sure… but, wait, I wasn’t paying attention that time so maybe a redo..?

…

“Uh, Natsu, what are you doing? _These_ are the flowers we need.”

At Gray’s voice, I tilt my head back to see him holding up something that looked like a pink glowing sunflower to me.

“How would you know that?”

“Don’t you remember? Porlyusica showed us a PICTURE through the lacrima! PLEASE tell me you weren’t just eating magic flowers that we know nothing about.” Gray pleads.

I stare back at him silently, a bead of sweat forming on my brow. I open my mouth to make up a lie about not eating any of them, but before I can a giant cloud of purple smoke seems to explode around me.

“Natsu!? What the heck is happening, what is this stuff?” Gray asks frantically.

I cough and swat at the smoke cloud, standing up and trying to walk in the direction I heard Gray, and I end up bumping into him just as the cloud dissipates.

He looks over me with those sad droopy eyes like he’s afraid I got hurt or something, and when he sees that I’m okay he relaxes, but something below catches his attention and his eyes get all wide.

“What..?” I look down to find he’s staring at my _stomach_ , it’s GLOWING! From the inside!

“YOU DID EAT IT DIDN’T YOU? You don’t eat something if you don’t know what it is!”

_It’s probably just the flower petals, they were glowing before I ate them, and I did have quite a bit._

_So I don’t need to panic._

_Not at all!_

_…_

“GRAY! SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH ME! THIS PLANT IS KILLING ME FROM THE INSIDE I JUST KNOW IT!” I scream, running him in circles practically tearing my hair out in a panicked frenzy.

“IT’S PROBABLY AN ACID THAT’S GOING TO MELT MY ORGANS!”

“Natsu, stop!”

“I CAN FEEL IT HAPPENING NOW! AHH!”

“Natsu!”

“AHHHHHHHHH-GAH!” I’m cut off when a pair of arms grabs me from my run and pull me to an abrupt halt.

“Calm down! You’re freaking me out, Natsu! Just let me look!” Gray insists while stroking the sides of my arm soothingly, but I’m still shaking and my head is set to full panic mode, the world feel so much smaller right now.

“S-sure…” I manage out, and he gives me a brief nod, patting my cheek once before bending down to his knees in front of me and lifting my jacket and shirt to expose my abdominal.

“It doesn’t feel like dark magic, so that’s a good sign.” Gray says with his hand hovering over the glowing area by my bellybutton, but as soon as he makes contact with my skin the little light fades and my body returns to its normal state.

“I don’t think it was dangerous, but how do you feel?” He asks, rubbing my stomach with a worried look on his face.

I feel ordinary, except for a tingly warmness where the glowing was that’s still there.

“Ah, a little warm, but other than that I think I’m fine…” I say with uncertainty.

Gray reaches over to pluck one of the flowers I had eaten and shoves it in his pocket before he stands up and reaches out for my hand and takes it wordlessly into his.

“I’ll ask one of the girls if they know what it is, for now let’s just not worry about it,”

I worry my bottom lip as he drags me on, back to the path we had come from, even though he says to not worry I can’t shake the bad feeling I have about this.

 

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Critiques are very appreciated! Don't be afraid to tell me about any errors you find or tips you have for me! Thank you all so much! :D


	13. X791-Present-Nightmare

**October, 23 rd, X791**

**Bosco, Deros Village**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

This trip just keeps getting better by the day, and I mean that in the most sarcastic way, I can’t emphasize that enough. The village we’re currently passing through is called Deros and its halfway through Bosco and right in the middle of _nowhere_. Cornfields, farmlands, and hey, would you look at that, some more cornfields and the worst part of it all is that it’s pouring down rain and the wheel of our carriage got stuck in the mud, while Lucy and I tried to dig it out she summoned Tartarus and that big idiot broke it! I used the reserves of my maker-magic to replicate the wheel, but that leaves me  _and_ Lucy both depleted now with Wendy at the helm.

All this bad luck started when Natsu decided to eat those damn flowers! As soon as we got back to camp that night I showed the girls what he had eaten and not one of them had a single idea as to what it was or what it could do, but Natsu was fine so it didn’t seem like a big deal and we all figured it would just pass through his system.

 _Wrong_. A few hours later when we were all settled in he got up in the middle of the night with an outrageous thirst, like he had been stranded in a dry desert for months. He had emptied most of our water supply at camp and it still wasn’t enough, and he ended up spazzing out and running for the river, so I followed him. I started to get worried that he might just drink up the whole damn thing! It took a while but when whatever craziness that had come over him had faded away he just sat by the river with a nauseated look on his face, I figured all that water must have given him a stomach cramp or something, but instead of throwing up he just passed out, and he’s been asleep ever since!

Wendy looked over him when I dragged him back to camp and tried to use her enchantments to cure him of any sickness he could have but nothing worked, or nothing woke him up at least. She spent almost all day yesterday trying to figure out what was wrong with him while we trekked through the first half of Bosco, but by the time we set up camp for the night the only thing she could tell us was that whatever the flowers did to Natsu it wasn’t hurting him in anyway, so all we can do is wait two more days until we’re back in Magnolia and see if any of our guild-mates can tell us what the heck that flower did, or just until he wakes up on his own.

I really wish we could take a train back, but since we destroyed those people’s city we didn’t really earn enough to afford a trip back. The worst part about this is we’re all going to have to take another request as soon as we get back since buying the tickets to get to Joya in the first place hit as all pretty hard in the wallet.

There isn’t much to do in the back of the carriage except nap, daydream, or wait. I would talk to Lucy but we’re both in pretty bad moods and keeping to ourselves is just better, and besides our chatter could wake up Erza anyway and she really needs to rest.

I decided to get comfortable down beside Natsu while the carriage rolled on at the speed of smell. It’s not some big shock to Lucy when I occasionally touch him in some way because most of our close friends know about us. She does look over at us with this dopey smile on her face sometimes but that’s it. _We really are bad at keeping secrets honestly_.

I had put Natsu’s scarf back on him yesterday because honestly wearing that thing is a nightmare. I don’t mind the fabric, it’s soft and whatever and I like the way it smells like him, but I couldn’t take wearing it anymore because I felt like I was being strangled, I don’t know how he can wear the damn thing so easily but it definitely looks better around his neck than it does mine.

This ride is pretty boring actually, I wish he was awake, he always has something to babble about, and even though I act so annoyed by his voice it’s actually one of my favorite things about him. I’m probably a little _too_ worried about him; I keep touching his neck to feel his pulse because some irrational part of me thinks it’s just going to stop suddenly when I’m not paying attention.

After a while I use his chest for a pillow just so I can have that constant slow thumping against my ear to reassure me. It isn’t long before the allure of sleep pulls me in like a small boat being dragged off the shore into calm waters by some unseen force. The gentle sway lulls me deeper into a pacified state where my mind wanders with colorful images that I’ll only be able to recall vaguely when I wake up from this.

 

…

 

_Wait, where am I? How did I get into this forest and what’s with all this fog?_

_“Hehehe!”_

_Where is that laughing coming from!? It sounds like a child._

_I spin around cautiously, surveying my surroundings, something about this forest feels so familiar but I can’t quite place it, the fog is so thick that everything beyond a certain point is a blur or appears as white nothingness._

_“Hello..?” I lifting my foot to take a step forward, but I set it down on something that doesn’t feel right, not like the ground._

_I look down and find a face without any eyes grinning up at me, and I don’t register who it is at first because I make a strangled frightened sound and spring backwards so fast that I can’t catch my balance and end up falling over._

_I scurry up to my feet and search frantically for the body but there isn’t anything there anymore. A cold sweat breaks out all over me as I slowly inch back until my spine is against a tree trunk. What the hell was that?_

_I strain my eyes to search the area but with all this damn fog I can’t see a thing! Maybe my imagination was playing tricks on me?_

_“Hehe..!”_

_Yeah… that had to be it, the laughing and the body were both figments of my imagination and I should just focus on getting out of this forest._

_I make a move to step away from the tree but the moment I do I catch movement from my left, but it’s so far into the fog that I’m not really sure what I saw._

_“G-gray…?”_

_Wait, that voice is Natsu’s!_

_I step away from the tree and look beyond it to where I heard him calling from, “Natsu?” I move with caution, looking down to make sure I’m not about to step on any more creepy faces every few seconds._

_“G…Gray I’m over here…” He sounds so weak! What’s wrong with him?_

_The fog ahead of me clears up some and I see him standing against a tree, tied to it with his head drooped against his shoulder. I hurry over to him; the first thing I do is grab his face gently and lift it up. He’s so pale and he can barely keep his eyes open!_

_“Natsu..? Are you okay? Who did this to you?” I ask, but he isn’t responding, can he even see me?_

_I pat his cheek lightly to try and draw him out of his daze. He squeezes his eyes shut for a second before blinking them open at me, watery and full of relief, “Gray, it’s you!”_

_“What’s happening?” I ask him as the tears in his eyes spill over and fall down his pallid cheeks._

_“The baby is coming.” He tells me weakly, and I search his eyes carefully afterward. He has to be joking right?_

_“What baby?”_

_He screams in complete agony instead of answering me and I scramble, at a loss of what to do, I try to break his restraints but these ropes are so thick I feel like I’ll never cut through them!_

_“ARGH..!” Natsu cries out and this time something wet hits my cheek. I pause what I’m doing to reach up and touch the droplet on my cheek, then hold my hand out to see red on my fingertip._

_I look back up at Natsu to see the source is dribbling down his chin, but that’s not all, something else has changed, his stomach is huge and there is a tiny demonic hand bursting through it, covered in his blood._

_“What the hell is going on..!” I shout, focusing on breaking away he remaining threads of the rope so I can get Natsu off of this damn tree._

_He’s a dead weight against me, I hold him protectively and ease him to the ground with me, cradling his head in my arms, but his eyes are lifeless and so is his body except for the scaly hands tearing their way out of his stomach, all I can do is cry, holding him as his blood soaks me._

_“How did this happen!?” I choke out, clenching my teeth as a wretched sob bursts out of my throat._

_I did this to him somehow! It isn’t possible, but it’s my fault anyway!_

_A sickening flopping noise draws my attention to his stomach, where the head of a tiny dragon pops out like a mole facing the world after months of being underground for winter._

_It looks at me and all I feel is hatred. And I guess the feeling is mutual, it hisses at me and quickly scurries out of his body, dragging out some of his entrails with it._

_I turn away my head as my stomach lurches and I fight it down. I shouldn’t have seen that! None of this should be happening!_

_Through my tear blurred vision I see dirty shoes and the tattered ends of black robes. I follow them up to the owner, and there, standing only a few inches away from me is the witch I killed as a kid. The one that cursed me, she doesn’t have any eyes._

_It was HER face that I stepped on earlier!_

_She’s grinning at me with rotten teeth and cackling like the witch she is, “I wanted to be the first to say congratulations, Daddy.”_

_I shake my head with denial, “I’M NO ONE’S FATHER, YOU OLD BAG OF VOMIT!”_

_She isn’t fazed by my insult; in fact she delights in it and tosses her head back with more obnoxious laughter._

_“That IS your lover, isn’t it? What’s the matter? You should be thrilled! He just delivered your progeny into this world at the cost of his own life!”_

_Outraged, I set Natsu’s head down onto the ground softly before climbing to my shaky feet and charging after her with the intent of killing her a second time._

_“STOP LYING!”_

_But my punches phase right through her body, no matter what I try, my ice magic, kicks, nothing works! She just stands there laughing at me!_

_Breathing hard, I rest my blood soaked hands on my knees, “That THING isn’t mine. It can’t be. I took a potion when I was a kid that sterilized me after you said you put a curse on me! You must have put a demon inside of him yourself! For that, I’ll make you suffer!” I promise, hot tears of rage flowing down my face as I form an ice blade on my right arm._

_The woman lifts her hand and points somewhere behind me, “Oh? He looks an awful lot like you! Why don’t you turn around and give your son a nice big, fatherly hug?”_

_My brow twitches downward as I get an unpleasant sensation from behind me, like someone with a lot of hatred in their souls might be standing there, waiting to stab me right in the back._

_I turn slowly, and sure enough there’s a little kid standing there, a boy in red overalls. They look… almost just like me, except the eyes, I’d recognize those squinty eyes anywhere. For just the smallest moments I feel something tug at my heart strings, but when I look beyond the kid I see a horrific sight._

_All my friends, everyone I cared about at the Fairytail guild is piled behind him in a mass pile of carnage. I could recognize some faces in it, Lucy, Erza, Happy, and even Juvia… Gramps! I can’t take this._

_My hand shoots up to my mouth but it does nothing to stop the vomit from coming out._

_I feel nothing but disgust for this child!_

_“Gray..!”_

_Is that Lucy’s voice? I look back over my shoulder at the mound of flesh and gore, but her eyes are still glossy, there is no way it was her that spoke._

_The witch laughs again, hysteric and mirthful._

_“Gray!” Lucy?_

_Where is that coming from!?_

_I spin around in a complete circle but nothing, I can’t find Lucy anywhere!_

_“Dad…”_

_I stop, spin around to face that… vile monster and shake my head at it, “No. I am NOT your father. You aren’t anything to me, kid.”_

_“It doesn’t matter. You’re the last one left, so it’s time for you to die, Dad.” He says with an eerie smirk._

_With one hand, he starts making gestures, it takes me a moment but I realize what he’s doing. It’s ice-make magic!_

_I pick up a defensive stance, ready for whatever this creature has to throw at me, “Bring it on, kid—Gauh!”_

_A searing pain in my abdominal draws my gaze downward, what looks like a harpoon made of red ice is going right through me._

_A-aparently…_

_I wasn’t ready._

_I can’t move an inch. I spit out a mouthful of blood and look back up at the demon spitefully._

_“Th-this isn’t over…” I choke out past the blood flooding up the back of my throat._

_“Look above you, Dad.” The kid says, his hand held out in front of him with his palm open._

_I crank my head up and pale at what I see. Two twin hammers are hovering above both sides of my head… and from the looks of it, when he’s ready it’ll smash my scull into a pancake._

_I spit out another mouthful of blood before turning my glare back to him, if this is it, I only have one last thing to say to him, “I’ll never be your father.”_

_The last thing I see is the demon closing his fist._

…

 

I jolt upright, confused, breathing hard and damp with sweat and tears. I rub my face with my hands and take a few deep breaths. _It was just a nightmare. That’s all it was._

“Gray, are you alright? I’ve been worried sick, we saw you were having a bad dream and tried to wake you up from it but you wouldn’t budge,” Lucy tells me softly from next to me.

There are two pairs of hands on my back, that’s when it dawns on me that she said _we_. I drop my hands from my face and look to my left and find Lucy staring at me with worry, and to my right is Natsu, frowning deeply and looking just as concerned. _When did he wake up_?

“Y-yeah… I’m fine. It was just a bad dream…” I say, hearing shakiness in my groggy voice. _How long was I asleep for anyway_?

I feel Natsu rest his chin on my shoulder as he warps his arm around me from behind, “Are you sure..?” He asks, touching the side of my face to wipe tears off my cheek with his thumb.

“Of course, yeah… I’m just feeling a bit cramped up so I’m gonna walk for a bit.” I lightly pull away from Natsu’s hold and Lucy’s too then crawl towards the rear of the carriage and jump out.

I hop off the edge of the cart and land in a small puddle. It’s still raining, but not as heavily as it was before I took that nap, but the cold chill is actually really refreshing. I’m feeling a lot better, I shouldn’t let my nightmares get to me, I should be used to them by now, but for some reason that one has me shaken up pretty badly.

Damn… I’m never going to have kids, no matter what, that shit was insane, I can’t let it happen to me or anyone else, that’s why I took that potion when I was younger, I had similar dreams with the same kid but Natsu was never in them, they scared me enough to make myself incapable of ever producing children. The magic is irreversible, so even if I did change my mind in the future I’d have to adopt or something.

But of course, being with Natsu makes it impossible to have kids anyway, which is pretty damn handy if you ask me. It means I never have to worry about those _what if_ thoughts.

Although, he would make a pretty good dad, I mean, I grew up watching him raise Happy, the Exceed might be a little snarky and have a bad sense of humor but I think he turned out pretty well overall. There is no way I could ever handle kids though.

“So how’s it goin’?”

That voice draws me out of my thoughts and has me looking up to see Natsu sitting on the edge of the carriage, legs dangling over and grinning at me widely.

“Does it feel breezy out there?” He asks with a little chuckle.

 _What’s he talking about_? I shrug at his weird question and chalk it up to Natsu just being himself.

“It’s not bad.” I reply with a shrug.

He grabs something from behind him, some kind of dark fabric and holds it out in front of me, when it unfolds my face turns bright red.

 _Those are my pants!_ I quickly look down at myself to confirm that they were indeed mine, and yep, just boxes on. How the hell did I get my pants off over my shoes!?

“Hahaha! You always act so shocked every time! You think you’d be used to being a full time stripper by now!” He laughs loudly, holding his stomach and kicking his legs around.

The horrifying mental image of me up on a stage dancing on a pole pops into mind, “You know it’s not like that!” I shout defensively.

“Oh come on, you’d be great at it!” Natsu tells me with a teasing wink, then I hear Lucy laugh loudly from inside the carriage, but I can’t see her past the curtain.

“HAHAHA! It sounds like Natsu is asking you to give him a little striptease, Gray!”

Normally things like that would make him mad and he’d get all loud and obnoxious, but Natsu snickers and leans back to look at Lucy inside.

“Gray doesn’t have the dancing skills to do something like that! Stripteases require a lot of talent to pull off!”

My eyebrows draw together and I feel my nostrils flare out, “Are you saying I don’t have any talent? You’re one to talk! All you can do is eat fire!”

Natsu gets a mischievous look on his face that makes me feel like I’m gonna regret what I just said.

“Then why not put my one talent to use then Gray? Don’t you have something _hot_ you’d like to feed me?”

_Yep, I regret it._

Even though it’s _terrible_ I feel myself blushing hard from my neck to the tips of my ears.

Lucy and Erza both are cracking up hysterically. _Why do they have to encourage him?_

As I glare at Natsu’s smug little smile I realize something. He’s on a moving transportation and he isn’t sick! Does he know it’s moving? Or did those flowers cure his motion sickness?

“Natsu, don’t you realize what you’re sitting on?” The moment I point it out his eyes light up with excitement and he can’t get what’s on his mind out fast enough.

“I think eating those flowers cured my motion sickness! Well, for now anyway, I don’t wanna get my hopes up! But wouldn’t it be awesome if it was gone for good?”

Of course I agree with him, “Heck yeah it would!”

He’s so smiley today, does he even realize that he was in a mini coma for a little over twenty four hours? Maybe it made him feel really refreshed or something?

“Do you feel okay though?” I ask and he shrugs what that dopy smile I like so much.

“The only way I can think of describing it is it feels like I have a fire in my belly, but not the regular type of fire, it’s not a bad feeling, it’s just weird.” He explains as he rubs his abdominal. Something about the action makes me go pale and flash back to my nightmare for a brief moment.

Natsu breaks my train of thought before it can escalate further and I’m grateful he does, “Anyway..! When we get back to Magnolia I was wondering if you wanted to take up a mission with me and Happy, Lucy and Wendy have already decided that they want to stay with Erza for a while.”

I smile softly and nod once, “Yeah, of course, I’m up for it.”

I honestly don’t want to go back out right away, but I _do_ need rent money, so I guess I gotta. Besides it’ll be with Natsu so it won’t be that bad.

 

\---


	14. X791-Present-Scary things

**October, 25th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Natsu Dragneel**

 

It’s pretty late in the evening when we finally roll into Fiore, and it isn’t until about nine at night that we get into Magnolia. It’s been a pretty relaxing ride for me since I can _actually_ just relax without my stomach becoming my worst enemy the whole trip. Whatever that flower did to me I hope it NEVER wears off! And for the first time I was able to give all my friends a break and power the carriage with my OWN magical strength. I think my favorite part of the ride was being able to doze off in the back peacefully without waking up to vomit.

Apparently our guild mates were anxiously awaiting our return because half of Fairytail was outside when we pulled up looking insanely worried. I suspected it was for Erza’s sake, for all they knew she was still in critical condition.

Our part was officially done when Gray and I helped carry Erza into the upstairs medical wing of the guild, where Porlyusica was waiting, preparing some kind of strong smelling sticky green paste in a wooden bowl. After we set Erza down we were shooed out of the room and told to stay out of the healer’s sight and don’t come back unless she said it was okay. Sheesh, she’s such a bossy old woman! It sucks but we just have to wait and trust in Porlyusica's skills.

After going downstairs the people who weren’t throwing a million questions at Lucy and Wendy came to Gray and I, most of them just wanted to know what went down and why it took us so long to get back, we explained how we destroyed the city while fighting that dumb guy Manuel or whatever his name was.

It felt like forever before things settled down and everyone returned to their own spaces to talk amongst themselves, leaving our team alone to finally just relax. Since it was so late Wendy and Carla decided they would head home, and Levy convinced Lucy to go out with her somewhere, leaving a grumbling Gajeel sulking at the bar where Gray is having a tall glass of beer three stools down and I’m sitting between them with Happy half-asleep on my back.

“Do you want one, Natsu?” Gray asks me, and it’s then I realize I had been dazing off staring at his mug.

I think about it for a moment, it did sound pretty good, “Maybe, what are you having?” I ask as I rest my elbows on the counter.

“I don’t know, but it kind of tastes like gasoline.” He says, looking into his cup grimly.

“You’re just a wimp, let me try it.” I insist, reaching my hand out towards the glass.

He glares at me but shrugs and scoots it over, “Fine, if you insist.”

I take the cold mug into my hands and look down at the golden colored ale with a strange feeling in my gut and I can hear my inner dragon warning me about something but it’s just throaty rumbling I can’t understand.

With a shrug I lift the glass and put the rim to my lips and tilt it back, just a few drops of golden liquid touch my tongue before that rumbling from before turns to coherent language, _DON’T!_ It shouts and I turn my head and spit out the bitter fluid in my cheeks all over an un-expecting Gajeel!

Gray is trying to contain his laughter from behind me but it comes sputtering out despite his efforts.

I’m staring at Gajeel’s dark gaze with horror, not because I’m afraid of that walking trash can or anything, but why I even spit out a perfectly good drink in the first place.

“What the hell is your problem, Salamander?” Gajeel snaps as he wipes his face off with a nearby napkin.

“I think there might be something wrong with this drink… my instincts are telling me it’s bad.” I say, looking back down into the glass with uncertainty.

“Oh that’s just bull, you can’t handle the taste and now you’re making up excuses! Now you ruined my drink with your slobber” Gray says as he reaches over to flick me in the forehead.

I deadpan at him, “ _Really_ , Gray? You think I’m germy? Well then I guess that means I don’t have to kiss you anymore.” I pout, folding my arms across my chest and turning my chair away from him with a huff.

“I-I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just, different!” Gray pauses to grab the back of my chair and turn me back towards him. I let him, just so I can glare into his soul, “I just think backwash is gross, that’s all!”

I close my eyes and turn my head away from him, of course I’m not really mad at him, I just like to see Gray squirm every now and then.

I get a fearful flutter in the pit of my stomach when my chair is suddenly dragged across the floor, it creeks against the tile softly in protest but it isn’t loud enough to draw any attention this way. I open my eyes to see Gray smiling at me. His hands move from the sides of my stool to my waist, which elects a different type of fluttering inside me entirely.

“Come on, I can tell you’re just _pretending_ to be mad, Natsu.” He chuckles as he subtly rubs my sides with his thumbs.

The moment my gaze meet Gray’s I forget about where we’re at and who is around us. Why does he have to have such gorgeous dopey eyes? And why does he have to be looking at me like this right now? With his eyes half lidded while they stare at my mouth and his teeth lightly digging into his lower lip. I've been addicted to those cool lips since I had my first taste of them, when he taunts me like this it's impossible to resist.

I can’t deny that I blush, or that I’m the one that leans forward first. Kissing him sets my nerves on fire, from where our lips touch to the tips of my fingers ghosting over his shoulders, I’m not sure when they got there but it isn’t important to me right now. Its close mouthed between us, but it’s alright with me, it feels perfect. My heart swells up with an emotion I can’t quite place while we exchange little butterfly kisses between small giggles. I search for his hands, trailing my fingers down to his wrist until I found them at my waist and I pry them off gently, just so I can hold them, lace our fingers together, and he doesn’t mind, he rubs his thumbs against the outsides of mine and smiles softly against my mouth. _I really like him..! I like him so much I can hardly stand it, why didn’t I claim him sooner!?_

…

Someone clearing their throats has the both of us practically jumping apart faster than frogs on a hot barbeque.

My face is burning with embarrassment when my sense of logical finally comes flooding back to me. We just made out in front of the entire guild! Did anyone see--? Wait that’s a stupid question! Of course people saw! Just how many saw though? What the heck cause us to act like a couple of hormonal teenagers!?

“Gehehehe… is this how you guys are gonna settle your arguments from now on?” Gajeel asks, startling me with how close he is to us. That bastard pulled his chair up to sit and watch us like some kind of theater performance! _How didn’t I notice him come over_?

“Why are you watching us so closely, you creep!?” Gray snaps at him for me, I’m far too flustered and busy searching around the guild for any eyes turned our way. But surprisingly, no one was looking. Maybe Gajeel sitting where he is blocked their view! Wait then, does that mean he did it intentionally? Why would Gajeel do something like that?

“I didn’t do it to be helpful though, if that’s what you’re thinking, actually I have a question,” Gajeel says as he sits up straight and gets a serious look.

I take a moment to calm down, summoning my mental _cold shower_ to push away all my feelings for Gray so my face will stop feeling like it is on fire.

“What do you want?” Gray asks with a dull infliction in his tone.

“I wanna know how the heck _this_ happened,” Gajeel surprises me when he reaches forward and pokes my stomach with his finger.

Infuriated I stand up from my seat and get up in his face with flames spewing out of my mouth, “ARE YOU CALLING ME FAT?! I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW I’M IN THE BEST SHAPE OF MY LIFE YOU WALKING TRASH CAN!”

Gajeel tuts at me and shakes his head, “That’s not what I mean you complete fucking _walnut_. I’m talking about the magical energy inside yah! Did you eat an ACTUAL fairy or something? What’s the deal?”

I stop seething the moment he mentions the energy inside of me. It’s not like I don’t know it’s there, I feel it constantly, just this small, fiery little ember in the depths of my gut. It doesn’t hurt or anything so I haven’t been too worried about it, and if it was something dangerous I’m sure my inner dragon would be freaking out by now so I kind of just let the matter slip from my mind.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot…” Gray says from behind me, I look over my shoulder to see him shuffling around in his pocket, and he retrieves the flower he had picked from the field. It’s still as lively as it was that day, despite being compact in his jeans.

“Natsu accidentally ate a few of these flowers when we were looking for one Porlyusica needed. It has magical properties so I’m a bit worried. Do you know what this is, Gajeel?” He asks, handing the flower over to the steel-headed mage.

He takes it with surprising gentleness and looks it over thoughtfully, and then I see a spark in his eyes. _So he must know what it is!_

He looks between Gray and I for a moment before asking, “Have you guys had sex since he ate this?”

I shake my head _no_ and Gray does the same.

Gajeel breathes out a sigh of relief, and I become tense, _this can’t be good, why would he ask something like that_?

“That’s lucky! This little thing is a fertility flower. You’re not _actually_ supposed to EAT the thing. Couples with issues conceiving are supposed to soak the petals in a cup of water for three days, and then drink it. They bang right after and boom, instant conception.” He explains before he hands the flower back to a pale looking Gray.

“B-but we aren’t… I mean, we’re both dudes, so, it wouldn’t work anyway, right?” Gray asks, scratching the back of his neck.

“ _Wrong_. The flower works for any couple of any gender. It doesn’t care, it isn’t picky. So unless you want to be called Mommy and Daddy I suggest you guys not get freaky until _you_ can’t feel that magical energy inside of you anymore, Natsu.”

I start to sweat after hearing this, if just one flower is enough, and I ate… uh, I don’t know how many, what does that mean? How long is this energy going to stay in my system?

“Actually, Gajeel…” _Gramps_?

I turn around and find the old man sitting cross-legged on the bar top directly behind us, looking stern and serious.

“You’re wrong about one thing, you do not need to engage in intercourse for a child to be conceived after ingesting this flower,” As he says this I feel all the color drain from my body.

_What..?!_

“How would you know somethin’ like that?” Gajeel asks with a tilt of his head, his neck cracks in the process.

“Because my late wife and I were one of the many couples that sought out the aid of his flower, it is very powerful life magic and intercourse is _not_ a requirement for a child to be conceived after the flower is eaten.” Gramps explains, his voice is starting to sound really muffled and far away to me, I feel like my stomach just dropped to the floor.

“So what _is_ required?” Gajeel asks for both Gray and I, neither of us have moved a single inch since this topic was brought up.

“Just one touch from your partner is all it takes, the deeper your love is for one another; the higher the chances are it is of working.” Gramps trails off, looking from Gray, then to me, smiling brightly but my mind is replaying what happened a few days ago.

 

…

_“Calm down! You’re freaking me out, Natsu! Just let me look!” Gray insists while stroking the sides of my arm soothingly, but I’m still shaking and my head is set to full panic mode, the world feel so much smaller right now._

_“S-sure…” I manage out, and he gives me a brief nod, patting my cheek once before bending down to his knees in front of me and lifting my jacket and shirt to expose my abdominal._

_“It doesn’t feel like dark magic, so that’s a good sign.” Gray says with his hand hovering over the glowing area by my bellybutton, but as soon as he makes contact with my skin the little light fades and my body returns to its normal state._

_“I don’t think it was dangerous, but how do you feel?” He asks, rubbing my stomach with a worried look on his face._

_I feel ordinary, except for a tingly warmness where the glowing was that’s still there._

_“Ah, a little warm, but other than that I think I’m fine…” I say with uncertainty._

 

…

 

Just one touch, Gramps had said that’s all it takes… and that glow, as soon as Gray touched my stomach it stopped and I started feeling this energy inside of me.

_But, this isn’t just magical energy, it’s…_

I touch my stomach, staring off into space as I focus on that little flicker within me; it’s not just the remains of magic left in my system from the flower, I see that clearly now. _It’s alive_.

 

\---

 

**October, 25 rd, X791**

**Fairytail Guild Hall**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

I feel sick to my stomach! This can’t be happening! This has to be another nightmare, why can’t I wake up from it? What kind of shit luck do I have? There has to be some way to get rid of that THING, there is NO WAY I want to be a father, EVER! There has to be a mistake somewhere, maybe it didn’t work! Maybe there is still a chance to avoid this situation somehow!

“Gramps, do you think Natsu really is… uh,” I can’t bring myself to even say the word, it’s like some unholy phrase forbidden to be spoken aloud, “… M-maybe the magic didn’t take the first time, is what I mean…”

Gramps grins enthusiastically at me, “This is a very powerful magic, Gray, even now I can sense a tiny little life within Natsu, I have no doubt in my mind that he _is_ pregnant! This is wondrous news! Congratulations you two..!” He elates, slapping me hard on the shoulder with encouragement.

I swallow hard past the lump in my throat, “T…this isn’t a joke, is it?” An image of the boy from my nightmares flashes before my eyes when I look at Natsu and my skin crawls. I can’t believe it; Gajeel and Gramps have to be pulling some kind of prank on us. Yeah, that has to be it.

“Feel it for yourself, Gray, close your eyes,” Gramps instructs me, and I look to him warily, but I comply, squeezing them shut.

“Now, feel the life in this room, the magical energy along with the life force of your fellow guild mates…”

It takes me a moment to get to that relaxed state where I can do that. I breathe in deeply through my mouth, and exhale through my nose, I repeat this until the tension in my shoulders releases and I can clearly feel the flow of energy throughout the room. With this many people it’s hard to separate who is who, it’s like staring directly at the sun.

“Now, focus on _only_ Natsu, tune out everyone else in the room except for him,”

It’s incredibly hard… I don’t see how it’s possible to just tune everyone out. It’s like looking for shade in the desert.

“Relax yourself, picture him in your mind, remember what his energy feels like and lock onto it…” As Gramps says this I feel him move beside me onto the barstool, he lightly grips my wrist and lifts it up, once in a position he deems helpful he releases and leaves me to the rest.

It’s easier this way for some reason. I can feel that familiar fiery power that’s almost too bright to look at directly. Even though the flames flicker and lash out wildly they don’t strike me as dangerous. They’re kind and warm. The more I focus on it the clearer it becomes in my mind that this is Natsu, it’s almost we’re in a dark room and a bright light is shining on his back, outlining his form.

There is something off about Natsu’s energy, a tiny little ember giving off a red cherry of a glow. It didn’t make sense at first, but this life is… it’s unmistakable. There is no question now, this isn’t a joke. Natsu is… he’s…

My eyes open and the first thing I see are Natsu’s, wide and hazy with unleashed tears. My heart squeezes painfully at the sight. The next thing I notice is my hand is hovering over his stomach. I want to reach up and grab him, hold him and do whatever it takes to make those tears go away, but he’s turning away and running towards the exit of the guild before I can say anything.

 _Is he upset about what’s happening to him_?

Happy is flying where Natsu was once standing, looking after his best friend with sad eyes before turning to me angrily.

“Well? What are you waiting for? You just going to stand there and let your best friend be upset all by himself?!” Happy scolds me, his paws clenching into fists as if he wanted to hit me or something.

I shake my head at him, “You have it all wrong, I’m just in shock… of course I’m going after him!” I don’t give it a second thought before I’m hoping off my bar stool and running out the door.

…

I’m kind of thrown off to see Natsu’s only just outside the front doors; I thought for sure he might be halfway across town by now. I don’t know what to do, how to comfort him. What can I tell him? That I don’t want this baby? Would that make him feel better? Or maybe I need to leave him alone to sort out his feelings by himself, what do I do?

I take a few hesitant steps towards him, reaching out a hand as my lips part to speak his name, but when he drops to his knees I pick up the pace and rush to his side with my heart practically jumping into my throat.

“Natsu, are you okay?” I ask, kneeling by his side. He has his hands on his on the dirty ground and his bangs have fallen over his eyes, but I can see a continuous stream of tears rolling down his cheeks. I try rubbing his back to sooth him but I’ve never seen him this upset, I don’t know how to make him feel better. Does he not want the kid and thinks I do? Is he upset because he thinks I will be devastated if he doesn’t keep it? But what if he does want it? Should I tell him about the curse and what could happen if we keep this thing?

I try to reassure him, “Shh… don’t worry about anything, alright? I will support any decision you make, alright?” I tell him softly.

My stomach twists in knots when he lifts his head and looks at me. I’ve never seen those big hazel eyes so red and wet, but what surprises me the most is that he’s smiling.

“You know… after Igneel, I never thought I could have _that_ kind of family ever again so I shut out the idea of any of that, being with a mate, or having kids, it was just something I accepted I would _never_ have, but suddenly all at once, it seems, I _have_ all of that, or well, I’m going to…” Natsu’s voice wavers at the end, shaky, and he reaches out to me and presses his face to my shoulder, I get my arms fully around him as he releases all the emotions he’s been holding inside.

He holds onto me tight and turns his head away from my neck so he can speak again; “I’m s-sorry, this is just really overwhelming, all this change happening at once a-and… I’m _scared_ , about _all of this_ , Gray, I’m so scared I’ll lose you somehow, and usually when I get scared like this I just want to hide, lock away my feelings so they won’t get hurt again…” He stops and pulls away so he can look at me but he doesn’t release the tight grip he has on my forearms, his gaze softens, despite the tears in the corners of his eyes he’s got a smile on his face, “… But for the first time I don’t want to run, or make it go away because _you're here_ , and honestly…” Natsu laughs, sitting back on his knees as he wipes his tears off on his sleeve, and I keep my hand on his back, “I’m _excited_ … I’m excited about having a future with you, Gray… a-and a _baby_! _I’m_ going to be a parent—I mean we _both_ are..! Is this real, Gray? Can something this good really happen to us or is there some catch somewhere that’s going to take all these good things away?”

I’m speechless at first, I don’t know how to respond when my opinion is so vastly different about the situation, but somehow his heartfelt words have shifted around my entire views of the world. _He’s truly happy about this, how could I take it away from him_? Hearing Natsu so excited about being a family with me makes my chest swell with heavy emotions I haven’t felt in forever. I get what he means; I never thought I would have _that_ kind of family ever again either.

“Are you sure this is what you want, Natsu?” I ask as I take his hands in mine and help him up to his feet.

When we’re both standing upright he keeps ahold of my hands and nods with a huge grin on his face, he’s getting all choked up again, he must not trust himself to talk. It’s in this moment, seeing the love of my life so completely and utterly happy he can barely contain himself that I decide I will do whatever it takes to keep seeing him smile like this.

I throw my arms around his shoulders and pull him into nearly crushing hug as tears of my own start falling down my face. _I love this fucking pyromaniac so much!_

Saying it in my head isn’t enough, I feel like if I keep these feelings inside me I might explode or worse! I lace my fingers together behind his ass and lift him up off the ground kiss him on the cheek before declaring, “I love you, Natsu!”

He cups my face and kisses me on the mouth adoringly with a hum in the back of his throat that turns into giggles, “I…” He cuts himself off, wrapping his arms around my shoulders tightly as he buries his face against my neck shyly, “Me too, Gray…”

_It’s a step up from “that should be enough,” so I’ll gladly take it!_

 

\---


	15. X791-Present-What is the truth?

**December, 14 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Juvia Lockser**

 

For the past month and a half, I have been given a very important task by my beloved friend Gray. I am one of three people outside himself, Happy and Natsu that know about their relationship and the baby! The two of them realized very quickly that in their current situation they don’t have the income to afford a child, let alone the space to put said child, but they are very determined and hard-working, a week after coming back with an injured Erza from their mission in Joya they came to me and asked for my assistance, (My most recent mission has earned me enough money to take a breather from work so I have no concerns with my financial state for now) they didn’t want to borrow anything of course, Gray simply asked if I could help him move out of his apartment, he had decided that since he and Natsu needed to be saving their money it would be much easier if his apartment rent wasn’t in the way and neither of them have had the time to do any packing, they come back so exhausted that they crash as soon as they get in town and by the morning they are restocking and heading out on two more separate missions. I know this is a stressful time in their lives so I am more than happy to help!

I _may_ have snooped a little bit while packing, but in my defense it couldn’t be helped! I can’t very well put his things into boxes without touching them or looking through his drawers! Of course it wasn’t anything dirty, even though I actually kind of hoping I would find something naughty among his belongings, sadly Gray didn’t seem to own anything like that, what I did find was far more personal, at least it looked that way. In the back of his closet I found a box full of tatty books, curiosity got the best of me and I opened them up. Some were drawings, dated back to when Gray was a child, others were more recent. There were books with short stories in them too and they were _good_! Who would have thought Gray would be so talented?! _Why did he keep this a secret? Is he ashamed?_ After stumbling upon a nude art I slammed the book closed and quickly packed away all the books in a flustered frenzy.

It only takes me about seven hours to get all of Gray’s materiel possessions packed up neatly and labeled accordingly, and just a few more to get everything strapped to a pulling cart I rented. Gray told me he didn’t want to keep his furniture and to just leave it because he would sell it when he got back.

So with all of that settled I locked his door and shoved his key in my pocket and headed out for Natsu’s place late in the afternoon, enjoying the peaceful serenity of walking through the snowy streets of Magnolia, until I spot Lucy and Erza across the street from me.

_Oh no…_

The blonde mage gasps upon seeing me and runs my way, _damn it_! With this cart I’m pretty much trapped unless I abandon it, and I couldn’t do something like that.

Lucy stops abruptly and turns back around to Erza and takes her by the hand. The reequip-mage is still blind for now; I heard that the medicine Porlyusica used on her eyes will take a full year before they will heal. She has to wear a thick pair of blacked out goggles whenever she’s anywhere bright to avoid any more damage to them, but other than that, she is the picture of good health! She was officially allowed leave Fairytail’s medical center last Friday!

“Juvia..!” Lucy calls out to me as she crosses the empty street between us to get to me with Erza in tow.

From what I was told, Lucy knows Natsu and Gray are together, but she doesn’t know the pair are expecting, which is something they want to keep quiet until they have everything figured out and settled down. She doesn’t understand why they keep going on separate missions and seems to think they have already broken up or are fighting. She chases me down every time she sees me because she suspects that I know more than I’ll tell her because she’s noticed that Gray and I have been hanging out more recently. Curse her for being so perceptive.

“Hello, Lucy.” I greet her calmly, trying to act nonchalant.

“Are you going on a trip?” She asks me, pointing at the full cart.

I sweat and smile awkwardly at her, “Uh, n-not exactly…” _I’m a terrible liar; I need to get out of this situation!_

Erza’s eyebrows draw together as she looks in my direction and hums in thought, “You sound anxious, Juvia. I hear you’ve been avoiding Lucy since Natsu and Gray became scarce… you wouldn’t happen to be hiding something, would you?”

“Of course not..!” I deny.

Something sharp and metal pokes me in the back and my eyes open wide. I slowly crank my neck back to look… and sure enough, one of Erza’s many blades is levitating behind me!

_Even without her sight she is fearsome!_

“T-that’s kind of harsh…” I hear Lucy mutter as she tries to calm Erza down by patting her back lightly, but the blind mage isn’t having it.

“This blade is impervious to water magic, so even if you turn into a puddle my sword will hurt you! The truth, _now_ , or face my wrath!”

Erza’s powerful tone sends a shiver up my spine and leaves my hairs standing on-end.

“How do I know that isn’t a bluff?” I inquire evenly.

I use my magic to liquidize my form, but even still as the blade presses against my spine as if it were still solid. _So Erza isn’t lying_.

“I never bluff.” Erza chuckles lightly like we were a pair of friends having brunch.

I swallow hard and hold my hands up in surrender, _I’m sorry about this Gray!_

I squeeze my eyes shut as I prepare to unload my friend’s precious secret for the sake of my own skin. I’m truly despicable, but Erza is terrifying!

But when I open my mouth, it’s not my voice that comes out; in fact, someone else from behind me speaks out.

“Yo, Lucy! Juvia! How’ve yah been?!”

I don’t believe it, Gray is back? He told me he wouldn’t be home until tomorrow night! He must have finished his quest early!

I spin around on my heels, preparing to greet him with a huge smile and a hug, but actually _seeing_ him has me doing a double take.

Gray looks like he’s been living in a cave for the past two weeks! I’m both repulsed and flustered by his rugged outdoorsmen look! The dirty and tatty brown coat, unzipped with no shirt underneath (he must have lost it somewhere) and a pair of ripped across-the-thighs blue jeans and he’s pulling his rolling suitcase behind him. I’m not too sure how I feel about his wild hair or the scruffy state of his face. It kind of makes him look older than he is. I mean, sure if we hadn’t been frozen in time for those seven years he would be twenty-six right now, but we’re all still young adults, and in Natsu’s case _barely_ an adult!

“Is that YOU, Gray?” Lucy gawks at him, awe-struck due to his current state.

Gray smiles and rubs the back of his head, “Y-yeah, I know I look strange with this thing on my face, but I’ve been so exhausted I haven’t had the time to tame it.” He laughs as he finally joins our small group circle.

The first thing he does is let go of his luggage, grinning widely at Erza, “Hey Erza! You’re looking much better! How are you feeling?” Gray asks as he walks on over and hugs the reequip mage, and I decide to be helpful and pick up the suitcase he left behind and add it to the cart.

Erza seems a little thrown off at first, her cheeks dusting with color, but she smiles all the same and hugs him back, “I’m well! Thank you for asking!”

They pull apart and Gray waves his hand in front of her face, “How about your eyes?”

Erza shrugs, “They’ll heal too, in time.” She states plainly.

Gray frowns at that and pats her shoulder gently with sympathy in his eyes, “I’m sorry,”

She shakes her head and laughs heartily and waves her hand at him in dismissal, “I’ll have none of _that_! This is an amazing training opportunity for me. In fact I’ve been waiting for you or Natsu to get back for just that reason.”

Gray gawks at this and sputters out, “A-are you sure about that? I mean isn’t there someone else you would rather do this with?”

Erza folds her arms across her chest and nods sternly, “Of course I’m sure, and no, there isn’t anyone else. Lucy and Wendy are too kind hearted, and Jellal outright refuses to assist me, the man has been babying me since he found out I had gotten injured. But I’ve spend my time resting, now I need to get back on the saddle and regain the strength I lost while I was healing.”

Gray nods with understanding, and I kind of get it too. Whenever I get hurt the first thing I worry about is going soft, and with Erza’s situation and her personality I don’t think she would be willing to ever take time off until her sight was healed.

“Well if it means that much to you, I can talk to Natsu when he gets back. Maybe the three of us can work out a training regiment,” He suggests, scratching at his scruffy chin in thought.

“Speaking of you and Natsu, is everything going well?” Erza asks with a cheeky smirk, nudging Gray in the hip with her elbow to urge him on.

“Of course, why do you ask?”

Lucy steps into the conversation now, “If everything is fine, then why aren’t you and Natsu taking missions together? You guys didn’t have a fight, did you?”

Gray shakes his head, “No, it’s nothing like that. We’re… kind of saving up for _something_ and we don’t earn as much when we’re together. It’s kind of like putting all your bait into one trap, you know what I mean?”

Lucy gets a little twinkle in her eyes, I have noticed it before, it happens when she wants the scoop on _juicy gossip_.

“What are you guys saving up for—WAIT! You guys are getting married aren’t you!? Is it going to be a big and fancy wedding? Who is going to walk down the isle in a dress? CAN I BE THE MAID OF HONOR!?”

While Lucy rambled on she seemed to ignore Gray’s frantic arm gestures, waving back and forth in an ‘x’ shape to deny her suggestion.

“It isn’t anything like that, and besides, Natsu doesn’t believe in marriage… or well, he doesn’t understand the concept of it.” Gray explains as he takes a step back to put a little space between himself and Lucy. The blonde had gotten whorishly close to him during her little verbal rampage.

“Oh… then what are you guys saving up for?” Lucy asks suspiciously.

Gray sweats at that and gives her a nervous smile, “Ah… I can’t say just yet.”

Lucy puffs up and pouts at that, “So it’s a secret! Then why does Juvia get to know about it!?”

Gray deadpans, “Because Juvia is being helpful and she isn’t a gossip queen like you.”

My heart flutters at that. Gray trusts me wholeheartedly to keep his secret and I almost just blurted it out..! _I’m a terrible friend_!

I hang my head with guilt as Lucy scoffs at Gray’s accusation.

“HEY! I am NOT a gossip queen! Come on Gray, I can keep a secret, I swear!” Lucy whines, grabbing onto Gray’s jacket and shaking him.

Gray sighs and shrugs her hands off, “I can’t tell you anyway! Natsu gets the final say in who gets to know, so if you want to find out THAT badly you’re going to have to ask him.”

Lucy instantly perks up at that, a huge determined grin spreads out on her face and her eyes light up, “Where is he!?”

“No clue, I just got back into town, I actually haven’t seen him in a while.” Gray admits sadly.

Erza speaks then, “That must be pretty rough on a new relationship. If you and Natsu need to save up that badly why don’t you just take some temporary jobs in town? I mean you could cut back on traveling expenses and at the end of the day you two will be able to sleep under the same roof.”

Gray looks as if he’s going to dismiss her idea, but he pauses, closes his mouth and his brows draw together tightly in thought.

Personally I agree with Erza, not only would having some regular jobs help their relationship but it will be much safer for Natsu, especially the further along he gets! They don’t seriously think he can keep taking missions five months down the road from now, do they?

“Actually, it’s not a bad idea. Just for a while at least.” Gray seems to mull it over for a moment longer before making an internal decision, “Natsu isn’t going to like this,” He says with a nervous laugh.

I notice a cloaked figure rounding the corner across the street, looking desperate and frantic like he’s been running rampant through the city for days. Wait a second, those facial tattoos! I think I recognize him..! He’s Erza’s boyfriend, but his name always escapes me! I feel so bad, but I know it’s a strange name… oh gosh, what is it? I think it has something to do with food. Uh, Mayonnaise..? No that’s not right… it’s a sweet food as I recall, Marshmallow? Or uh, wait, maybe it isn’t _exactly_ the name of a food but kind of sounds like it, so it’s more like Marshall? Melodious..? Um… OH! Wait! I know this! Sandwiches! It has to do with jam! Yes, I have it now, his name is Jamel!

I pride myself on my sleuthing skills as Jamel crosses the street, looking quite upset.

“Erza..! I’ve been worried sick about you!” Jamel calls out, interrupting the flow of conversation between Lucy and Gray, (I am not quite sure what they have been chatting about since I spaced out!)

“Don’t get your knickers all bunched up, Jellal, I’m perfectly fine.” Erza replies with a bit of bite in her voice.

I blush with humiliation! _Jellal!_ How could I be so close yet so far? His name was related to Jell-O no jam! A foolish mistake on my part! I can’t believe this! What if I had accidentally called him Jamel?

I cover my face with my hands to hide my shame. No one must ever know about my blunder!

“We’ll see you guys later!” I hear Gray say before something nudges my side.

I uncover my face and lift my head to see Gray motioning me with his head to start moving. I scramble, grabbing the cart by its rope-handle and treading on with Gray at my side.

…

I space out, looking at Gray’s profile as we walk. It’s really such a strange look on him. He almost looks the part of an outdoorsy father. It’s even stranger that he’s _actually_ going to be a father!

“That was lucky he showed up,” Gray tells me with a chuckle after we are out of their hearing range.

“Oh, yes! Very lucky..!” I agree with a nod.

“Something wrong..? You’ve been quiet.” He asks, shifting his gaze from the road in front of us to me.

I shake my head, “I’m just… still a bit in shock, that’s all! I mean how do you feel about this?”

Gray doesn’t have to give it a moment of thought before he has his answer, “Terrified.”

I frown at that, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Gray shrugs, and at first he just remains quiet, staring down at the snow crunching below his boots.

Minutes trickle by in silence as a light dusting of snow starts to fall on our shoulders. The streets are so quiet. Everyone must be inside, huddled be their heaters or fire places, drinking warm tea or coco.

“Is it weird that I’m worried about how the kid will turn out?” Gray asks, breaking through the silence.

_Why did he say “the” kid and not “my” kid?_ I shake my head to push away those thoughts for now; “No, I think every parent worries about that.”

“It’s just that… well… what if it turns out to be a really bad person? I-I mean, Gramps has a heart of gold and I’m sure his wife did too, but their son turned out as bad as they get.”

It seems like this topic has really been weighing heavily on his mind, almost like it could possibly stem from some deeper concern.

“Honestly Gray, I think you are worrying too much about the future. Just do your best, remember to be patient, and kind. Your job as a parent will be to guide your child _towards_ the right path, but in the end, they will be the one that chooses which one to walk down. As long as you and Natsu show your child the importance of compassion and understanding, I’m sure they’ll make the right choices.” I tell him with a reassuring smile, but he doesn’t seem too convinced.

“Sure.” He grumbles.

I stop, releasing the cart for a moment so I can grab Gray by the arm. He comes to a halt but doesn’t turn around facing me.

“What’s really bothering you, Gray?” I ask him firmly.

He huffs, his head drooping, chin to chest, “It’s nothing.” He denies, trying to shrug my hand off his arm.

“Alright then…! I hate to do this Gray but you leave me no choice. If you won’t tell me, I’ll inform Natsu that you are having concerns about having an evil child.”

“He _can’t_ know I’m worried about that, Juvia, don’t you _dare_ tell him.” He snaps back with his hands clenching into tight fists.

His fears seem irrational to me, well, I mean the severity of them, and how would he develop such a fear anyway?

“Why? This is something that’s clearly bothering you deeply, Gray and you won’t tell _me_ about it, and if you keep it bottled up, how do you expect to move past your fears? Why is it so hard for you to talk about this? I’m sure every parent worries about how their child will turn out, that’s normal.”

Gray whips around to face me at that, brows tense and eyes piercing into mine, “Damn it, Juvia! Fine! You really want to know!? I was cursed when I was young, alright? A witch cursed me! She said my kid will be more evil than even Zeref himself! Are you _happy_ now?!” He snaps at me, breathing slightly irregular after.

I blink owlishly; I didn’t expect him to get so angry with me, but I suppose I did push a button, so I deserved that. But, doesn’t he realize he’s surrounded by powerful wizards like Gramps, Porlyusica and even Mavis? Has he ever told any of them about it? He sounds almost like he’s been condemned to that fate for eternity, but in the end, I’ve never heard of a curse that can’t be broken!

“Chin up! Tell those gloomy thoughts to go away! You’re going to be a father! This is a very exciting time, I’m confident that we can get rid of this curse, we have plenty of resources to turn to!” I point out with enthusiasm, grasping both his hands in mine, “Aren’t you overlooking something, Gray? First Master Mavis has seen every magic there is, you could always ask her if there is any way to get rid of it, then you wouldn’t have to worry anymore!”

Gray gapes at me, speechless and frozen in place, when the shock wears off he shakes his head, “How am I supposed to talk to Mavis? She’s a spirt..! She comes and goes wherever she pleases!”

I get an idea and release Gray’s hands and clasp my own together, eyes shut, _spirts can hear prayers, right? I really hope so!_

“First Master Mavis..! If you can hear me, we could really use your wisdom when you have a free moment!”

“It’s not going to work like that.” Gray scoffs.

I open my eyes and look around. The two of us are still alone out here. Maybe she’s busy? Or perhaps my method was a bit silly?

“Actually I have a free moment now!”

Gray and I both scream and jump into each other’s arms. Clearly neither of us expected to hear a third voice or see a tiny figure appear just a few inches away from us!

“I heard what you two were talking about already, so there is no need to repeat yourselves!” Master Mavis says cheerfully as Gray and I release each other.

My heart is pounding! If she was listening the whole time, that means she did that scare tactic intentionally! What a little trickster!

“So is there anything I can do to get rid of the curse, First Master?” Gray asks with a polite bow of his head towards Mavis.

“Let me see,” Mavis says, tapping her bottom lip with a finger as she looks up at Gray. She narrows her eyes, circling around him, studying him, I think.

When she completes a circle around him, she stops and reaches up, touching her pale palm to Gray’s head, he leans down so it’s not such a stretch for her.

“Gray, there is something you should know,” Mavis says after pulling away from him. He begins to sweat, listening intently to what she has to say.

“The witch you fought, she had the ability to see into specific people’s futures, but she was never able to cast curses, I do detect something in you, but it’s not as severe as you thought, it’s strange magic… but it isn’t no curse. It’s an enchantment designed to give you nightmares and crippling anxiety. I got rid of it while I was looking into your memories.” Mavis’ sudden seriousness has both Gray and I on edge. If Gray isn’t cursed, and the woman who claimed that she had said that his child will be evil and she could see into the future, does that mean Gray is right to be worried?

“D-does this mean that the kid _is_ going to be…?” Gray swallows thickly, unable to get out the rest, but it is obvious what he was going to ask.

“I don’t know. I’ll find out what I can, I promise.”

With that, Mavis vanishes.

 

\---

 

**XXX, XX, XXXX**

**Spiritual Plane**

**Mavis Vermillion**

 

Within the spiritual plane, time is frozen still, but the living still move on and become colorless and blurry, out of reach for spirits, but still there.

There is more I didn’t tell Gray about, but I didn’t want to scare him. The witch didn’t place an enchantment on him to give him nightmares; she attached her soul onto him like a leech. She’s been haunting him in his sleep and causing him to have terrible nightmares, even though I pried her grip off, I know she’ll still be here. She has nowhere else to go.

And there she is, across the street in a tattered brown cloak. Her spirit is enraged. She isn’t happy about what I’ve done.

“It’s Ellis right?” I ask, and she grins at me wolfishly, I don’t flinch. This woman doesn’t intimidate me.

“And you’re a nuisance.” The witch Ellis spits out venomously.

“You’ve tormented a Fairytail wizard for years and left emotional scars that will probably never heal. I won’t ever forgive you.” I tell her steadily. If she wasn’t already dead, I would kill her myself. How dare she mess with a kid like that!

She cackles lowly, “I’d do it all over again if I could, but with crueler night terrors. I don’t regret a minute of it.”

“You _will_ tell me about the vision you saw of Gray’s future.” I demand.

“What’s the point? You can’t stop fate, dearie.” She smirks at me, and in the next instant she appears in the middle of the street, “It’s quite scandalous really.”

“Tell me why you think the child will be evil.”

The woman lifts her hands and waves them around in front of her, a small ball of fog forms, and then within it I see an image of Natsu with his eyes closed.

The woman tosses the ball of fog over towards me before she speaks; “It’s his lover that I saw in the vision, the demon. I saw that he would be the one carrying Gray’s child.” She says with dark delight.

My brows knit together tightly, _a demon, Natsu_?

The image of Natsu changes when he opens up his eyes, taking on the form of a horned demon.

She smirks at me as laughter rumbles from her chest; “Darkness loves the Dragneel family, it’s in their blood. With a dark lord as an uncle and a demon as a mother, it’s _destiny_ that this child become someone truly despicable.”

I try to wrap my head around what this woman is saying but it doesn’t add up, “Uncle..?” Who is she talking about.

“Zeref…”

Just the mention of _his_ name ignites my bones. I want to believe that this is a lie, but she is not deceiving me, she is being wholesomely honest, or she _thinks_ she is, perhaps she’s a very talented liar?

The imagine in the fog changes again, and it becomes even more difficult for me to believe anything this woman is telling me.

It’s Zeref, there is no mistaking it, but he’s much younger, and smiling with genuine happiness while he holds a pink-haired infant in his arms.

This can’t be right. She must be using her illusion abilities to create a fake vision to try and deceive me. I know how old Zeref is, where he comes from, and there is no way Natsu can be from the same era, he was raised in Fairytail!

“Even if what you say is true, you’re just speculating about what could happen because of family ties. You don’t really know anything about this child at all, do you?” It’s more of a statement than a question.

Ellis shrugs and chuckles at me, “I had to get revenge somehow, so I just used what the visions gave me, and _maybe_ tweaked with the truth a little.” She waves her hand and the fog shows me a silent scene instead of an image.

It’s Natsu, fast asleep wearing a hospital gown, and Gray is sitting on the edge of the bed, holding and gently rocking what I can only guess is an infant swaddled up in a white blanket.

This woman is despicable! Words can’t express how angry I am that she did this to one of my precious Fairytail wizards! She lied to him! She traumatized him for years with endless nightmares of not just having a child but the things from his past as well! I saw the horrors when I looked into his mind!

I don’t waste another word on this witch. I focus my mind on Natsu’s life energy and feel my spirt vanish.

…

I reappear inside of Natsu’s home, still in the spiritual plane, but I see him lying in his living room, looking miserable and rubbing his stomach with a puke bucket at his side and little Happy putting a cold wash cloth on his head.

 

\---

**December, 14 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia, Natsu and Happy’s**

**Mavis Vermillion**

 

I switch back to the living word in a flash; my presence goes unnoticed by the Dragon Slayer and his friend. I smile and approach the couch, leaning down beside it, I reach out and lightly tap Natsu’s forearm. I know he might not feel much, but it should at least draw his attention.

My hand leaves goosebumps on his arm but he doesn’t seem to mind it.

With a huff I try again, “Excuse me,”

Natsu doesn’t startle like Gray and Juvia did. He blinks his eyes open at me with confusion but smiles regardless, “Master Mavis! What are you doing here? It’s good to see you!” Despite sounding so enthusiastic he looks pale in the face and sickly.

I know Gray doesn’t want him worrying, and I get that. Stress isn’t good for pregnancy after all!

“I heard about the baby and I got excited! I would like to feel your tummy, if you don’t mind!” I elate, grinning widely at Natsu.

He smiles right on back and laughs; “I think it’s a little too soon to feel anything move, First Master, but you can go ahead anyway if you wanna!”

“Yay! Oh, this is exciting!” I giggle, reaching my hand out to press flat against his abdominal. It’s not movement I’m feeling for, not at all. It’s the baby’s life energy. If it truly is destined to be born evil I will be able to detect darkness coming from it, no matter how miniscule it may be.

I relax and breathe out a sigh of relief after finally seeing this little fella. So it’s true then, the old witch was just making up lies. This baby is a pure hearted clean slate just like any other. But just as an extra precaution I’ll put a small enchantment on Natsu that will protect him and the baby from any evil that they may encounter while he’s in this fragile state. I know it’s not much, but it’s the most I can do.

When I finish I beam a bright grin at Natsu as I stand, “Your child has a very pure soul. Congratulations, Mommy!”

Natsu smiles half-heartedly, opening his mouth, but his face goes pale and he rushes for his puke bucket and pulls it to his face just in time!

“Aw, it’s okay, you’ll feel better soon!” I assure him sympathetically. Pregnancy is such a beautiful thing, but it definitely has its down moments!

After he finishes being sick he sets the bucket down and wipes some saliva off his chin, “T-thanks, First Master” He readjusts himself and sits up, clearing his throat, his stomach seems to have calmed down for now because his expression isn’t nearly as tense as before.

“Don’t mention it! And you know, I am pretty familiar with this kind of magic. I’ve known many people who have used this flower to become pregnant, men and women both! So if you have any questions I’d be more than happy to help you whenever you need!” I offer kindly. Honestly I miss being a midwife! It’s been so long!

Natsu perks up and smiles brightly, it warms my heart and I can’t resist smiling in return!

“Are you serious? Would you really do that for me?” He asks, pointing at himself as if he weren’t sure I was talking to him.

“Of course..!”

Natsu swings his legs to hang over the edge of the couch and he chuckles at me, “Actually, I have a few questions right now, if you don’t mind.”

“Yes! Absolutely..!” I beam, clenching my fists as I take a seat on his coffee table, directly across from Natsu.

“I’ve been _insanely_ thirsty since this first happened, is it normal to go through four jugs of water a day? And don’t get me started on food, I thought I ate a lot BEFORE, but now I feel like I have a bottomless pit in my gut or something.”

I nod, “Mmhmm! Yes! This is completely normal! It’s because you are a male, so the pregnancy is a lot more demanding on you in the beginning. Right now your body is trying to store away as much as it can, so don’t be alarmed about how much weight you’re gaining!”

Natsu scratches his chin with a small nod as he absorbs what I just told him, and then he moves on to the next question, “Since this happened, I haven’t gotten sick on transportation, but recently, I get these dizzy spells and my stomach gets all upset, even if I’m not on anything that’s moving.”

I have to think about this one for a second, but judging from his personality I can take a guess at what’s happening, “Do these dizzy spells usually happen after you’ve fought, or done something strenuous?”

He nods, his eyes sparkling with amazement that I knew that, “Yeah! Every damn time..!”

“It’s happening because you’re burning off too many calories and your body is trying to divide up what little it has to keep you and the baby going. You’re getting sick because of how dizzy you feel I’m guessing. You should focus on relaxing more instead of fighting anyone seriously for a while, and as for exercise I advise you bring a snack pack with you and make sure to drink plenty of water and remember to take breaks!”

“Ahh, I see now.” He says understandingly, I can tell he already has another question for me!

I smile excitedly as he thinks over how to ask it.

“This is something that’s started up recently, I am pretty much always tired; no matter how many naps I take I’m physically drained!”

_How could that old woman call him a demon?_

I laugh a little at this one, “This is normal, like I said, your body is changing and it’s going to be very taxing on you for the first few months.”

_He seems so… normal and human to me._

Natsu sighs with relief, “Thank you for telling me all this, I thought something was wrong with me! Eh, speaking of which, I have one more question, do you—well, I mean, can you tell if the baby is okay?” He asks with genuine concern as he presses a hand to his stomach gently.

_He’s very caring. What darkness is Ellis talking about? Even now all I can feel is light radiating from him._

I ease his worries away with my words; “This little fella’s life force is as strong as ever! You’re doing a great job so far! I recommend you get more fruits and vegetables into your diet though!” I advise him.

Natsu stands up and stretches out his arms above his head, popping a few stiff joints in his back, “I will, thanks a bunch Mavis!” He chuckles as his arms drop back down to swing loosely by his sides.

_Perhaps I can get answers from Zeref. If what Ellis said was true about them being related somehow, then surely he would know more about this supposed darkness around Natsu that I can’t seem to see. I want to get all the facts before I report back to Gray. I want to be certain about this._

I stand up from the coffee table and give him an acknowledging nod.

 

\---

 

**December, 14 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Juvia Lockser**

 

Gray and I weren’t sure where Master Mavis went, we tried to wait for her but it was starting to get later and we figured since she’s a spirt she could find us wherever we are anyway.

The sun was just setting over the distant mountain peaks when we arrived at the house Natsu built. I haven’t been here before but I heard some rumors that he did a really good job, considering he was pretty young when he started this with just Happy helping him. This is actually really cute on the outside. I didn’t know Natsu had such talents!

The smoke coming from the chimney draws my attention, _someone must be home!_ I shift my eyes towards Gray and he notices it too, he drops his hold on the cart and runs for the front door and pulls it open and rushes inside.

I follow behind him, hovering in the archway as a humble observer. _Is Gray worried about him? Does he think something is wrong?_

“Natsu..?” Gray calls out, searching the living room in circles. I don’t see anyone in the house, but there is a stew pot above the stove and the house smells pretty amazing. My stomach rumbles quietly _. I wonder if it tastes as good as it smells_!

I see a door open from the other side of the living room, and Natsu emerges from what I think is a bathroom with only a towel around his waist and one wrapped around his hair. _Oh my!_ I flush as my eyes scan over his muscular form. _It’s not a crime to admire someone’s hard work!_

When the two locked eyes, I could practically see the sparks from both, the love and desire they shared. I can just picture what will happen next! Natsu will run into Gray’s arms and they will probably share a tender kiss and express how much they’ve missed each other over this past month!

The two of them point at each other and speak at the same time;

“Oi, what the hell is all over your face?” Natsu asks, just as Gray tells him, “You’re getting pretty chubby!”

Adoring gazes turn to heated glares in point zero seconds.

“THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME, _GRAY?”_

“IT’S CALLED _STUBBLE_ , SOMETHING YOU WOULDN’T KNOW ABOUT WITH YOUR SMOOTH BABY SKIN!”

I sigh with exasperation, leaning against the doorframe for support. _Romance is alive in this house_ , I think to myself grimly.

“Oh WHATEVER, _carpet-face_..!” Natsu snorts back at him sourly.

Gray rolls his eyes, “What the heck have you even been doing this month? Eating sweets non-stop? Geeze..!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I don’t eat sweets!” Natsu denies as he takes a step closer to Gray, balling his hands into fists at his sides.

Gray reaches both hands forward and presses his palms against Natsu’s stomach on both sides. It’s not bad, at least I don’t think so, it’s only the _smallest_ bumps and if Gray hadn’t made a fuss about it I wouldn’t have noticed it was there at all.

“Oh really..? Then what’s _this_ all about?”

Natsu butts his forehead against Gray’s as he invades his personal space, unusually sharp teeth clenched and his eyes lit with fiery rage, “IT’S CALLED _I’M PREGNANT_ , YOU JERKWAD!”

“You gotta get used to it! People are going to start commenting on your weight all the time!” Gray tells him, his hand slyly sliding around Natsu’s waist.

But Natsu; is apparently having _none_ of his affection or cutesy gestures right now. The pinkette squirms and pulls backwards away from Gray, “You insult me, and NOW you think it’s perfectly acceptable to cope a feel!? I’ll mess you up, Gray!” Natsu promises as he brings his fists up to grab the collar of Gray’s jacket, I believe it’s supposed to be a threatening gesture, the way Natsu’s face is contorted in anger, but it seems to backfire, as Gray leans into him with his lips puckered up.

Natsu turns his head away and scrunches up his nose disdainfully as Gray plants a slobbery kiss right on his cheek, then pulls back to say, “Good, _mess me up_ , Natsu.”

! ! !

My eyes widen and my face boils with heat, _did they forget that I’m standing right here!? Should I leave? Or perhaps clear my throat? B-but, they do need some alone time… wait, what about Happy? I don’t see him in the house, did he go off somewhere on his own? Or is he in another room?_

“Yuck! Stop! Your face feels terrible!” Natsu cringes as Gray rubs his scruffy cheek up against his affectionately.

“Gimmie a kiss, Natsu..!” Gray demands playfully as he hooks his arms around Natsu from behind and lifts him up. The other flails, pressing his palms to Gray’s shoulders as he tries to escape, it’s then I realize Natsu is letting this happen, he’s too tough to be subdued by something like that. I think his struggling is all some kind of stubborn show.

“Put me down you fuzzy pervert!”

Gray laughs at that, but decides to comply with Natsu’s request and set him back down, but his hands linger on his hips, only to be swatted away and the other turn his back to him and pout.

When Natsu turns he makes eye contact with me and his anger falters and his frown vanishes as he waves at me, “Hi Juvia! Long time no see.”

I scramble for words, still flustered over what I just witnessed, “Oh, yes! It has been a while! You look good!” I mentally curse at myself for being so awkward and openly staring at Natsu’s chiseled physique. _What in the world is wrong with me_?!

He practically glows with arrogance at that, “Thanks! I’m gonna go get dressed!”

Natsu turns and bumps passed Gray with his shoulder on his way to his bedroom.

As the door shuts, Gray turns to me with a slight smile ghosting his lips, “Hey thanks for helping out, Juvia, I really appreciate it. I’d like to take you out to dinner tomorrow as a way to say thank you! I insist, my treat.”

The determined glint in his eye causes me to smile bashfully. I know he won’t give up when he sets his mind to something so I don’t bother arguing, despite feeling bad about taking up his time when he’s so busy.

“Alright, would you like me to help you get your things inside before I go?” I offer, I really would like to help my friend lighten his burdens anyway I can.

Gray crosses the room to stand by the doorway with me, I can’t make the redness in my face go away. I know he isn’t suggesting a date with me; it’s merely a dinner between friends! But honestly, my feelings for him are still strong so it’s hard not to feel so giddy about it!

Gray shakes his head at me, “Nah, no thank you. I’m sure you’re exhausted from packing it up to begin with! I got it! You should go on home and get some rest! I’ll swing by your place at seven-thirty to pick you up… does that sound good?”

I am pretty tired, my shoulders and arms are pretty sore; who knew Gray had such heavy things?

“It sounds perfect. I’ll see you then!” I extend my hand, hoping for a friendly departing handshake, and in the same moment he holds both his arms out wide.

_Oh, he’s going in for a hug?_ I switch my arms position to open them up and take a small step closer to him, but at the same time his arms drop and he extends in a handshake gesture.

“Is this happening?” Gray asks blankly after the both of us switch around gestures for a third time.

“I’m sorry! W-we can just… maybe, uh, both!” I try to put one arm over his shoulder and shake his hand with my other, but with our height difference he has to tilt down awkwardly.

“Nah, this is silly, just bring it on in.” He drops my hand and brings his around to hug me, bending at the knees to wrap his arms around my upper back.

After a few friendly pats on my back he releases me and pulls away, but in doing so my hair gets pulled and I cry out painfully, “Ow, ow!”

“Oh no...! I’m sorry! Your hair is caught in my zipper!” Gray tries to untangle my hair from his jacket but every time he pulls at the blue strands it only tugs at my scalp.

“No! No, it’s fine! But please let me!” I insist, making shooing gestures with my hands in an attempt to make him stop, but he’s far too determined.

“No, I got it! It’s really stuck in there, so I’ll have to cut just a little bit off.” Gray holds out his free hand and forms a pair of in them scissors in them, “Sorry about this, I don’t understand how this even happened.” He says with a nervous laugh as he snips as close to his jacket’s zipper as possible to free me without ruining my hair too much. After he’s done, the scissors vanish.

“Goodnight, Gray!” I say with a quick bow of my head before hurrying at the door, pulling it shut behind me.

I need to get home as soon as possible! _That was possibly the most awkward encounter of my life!_

 

\---


	16. ACT 3-X791-Family drama

**ACT 3**

**December, 14 th, X791**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

After Juvia leaves I breathe a sigh of relief, she _knows_ and the further away from Natsu she is the better, I’m afraid that she might blurt something out, and I know that’s irrational thinking, but I’m too drained to be reasonable. Until the First Master tells me everything is fine I won’t be able to relax.

I turn away from the front door and face Natsu’s dim house with an overwhelming sense of surrealism crash into me and drag me under with its powerful force. _I live here now too I guess._ It feels like Natsu and I have dated for barely any amount of time at all and here we are, moving in together. It was Natsu who insisted this happen as soon as possible, and it made him so excited that I couldn’t say no. It’s cheesy to say but I think I might be addicted to his smile.

Natsu’s place is surprisingly neat, typically people assume that he’s a slob and I have to admit, I used to think he would be too, but every time I’ve been over to his house I’ve never seen any kind of mess. Was it because he and Happy were always at the guild so they had no time to junk up the place? Don’t those two knuckle heads collect treasure? What, did they hide it away or what?

I kind of want to snoop around, but I don’t feel comfortable yet. I’ve never really done more than stand in the doorway of Natsu’s house or the living room. I used the bathroom here once a long time ago, but I only vaguely remember it.

The living room is pretty spacious; he doesn’t have much in here aside from a couch, angled in the far corner with a wooden coffee table in front of it that I’m pretty sure he made himself, then there’s a hammock hanging between two support beams with an old fashioned rug with a bunch of random patterns and designs right below it. The dim lighting, masonry walls and dark hard flooring makes the place feel like an actual dragon’s den, which is pretty fitting.

The only thing separating the kitchen and living room is an L shaped breakfast bar with two tall stools. The kitchen has a stove built into the counter above the breakfast bar, and I assume the oven would be right below that, yet he still has a little black stove in the far corner of the kitchen. It’s putting off a lot of heat and cooking whatever is in the pot above it. It smells pretty decent, maybe Happy made it?

I feel at a loss, what should I do? Bring in some of my stuff now? Or wait? Stand or sit down? Damnit, why am I being so awkward?

I scratch the back of my head with a low sigh as Natsu’s bedroom door opens up and he walks out wearing a pair of boxers and a long black t-shirt with an orange flame on the front.

He shoots me a sour squinty eyed glare as he crosses the house to get into the kitchen, making eye contact the whole way until he reaches the stove, where he picks up a wooden spoon and the lid off the stew-pot to stir around the contents.

 _What the hell is his problem now?!_ “Why’d you give me a dirty look?” I ask snappishly.

Natsu finishes stirring, tapping the wooden spoon against the rim of the pot to shake anything off that may still be stuck to it, before he replaces the lid and sets the spoon back on top underneath the handle.

He moves around the kitchen with a tight browed expression on his face, he goes over to the sink and grabs a rag from a drawer beside it, wets it under the facet wrings it out aggressively.

 _Is he ignoring me_?

I lean up against the breakfast bar with my elbows on the countertop, “Yo, Natsu, did the flames in your head finally turn your brain to ash?”

Natsu is scrubbing the _already clean_ counters with that same pissed off look on his face.

I sigh, slumping forward, using my palm as a chin rest as I watch him sterilize the counters from the kitchen sink to the stove top in front of me.

_He’s such a nut! I didn’t even know he KNEW how to clean! And I never considered him to be an angry cleaner at that. Maybe this is something he always does in his house whenever he’s been away for a while. Could he be a clean freak?_

Natsu startles me from my thoughts when he slams the rag down on the counter with his fist and glares up at me, meeting my eyes with his unusual reptile-like ones. They only get like this when he’s truly livid. Geeze! What the hell did _I_ do?

“Do you REALLY want to know why I’m pissed off, Gray?” He snarls heatedly.

Usually I would reply with something snarky, but I carefully remind myself of what I’ve heard women talk about at the guild over the years. _Pregnancy causes people to become incredibly moody_ , so maybe this is just a mood swing?

“Yes, please tell me what’s bothering you, Natsu…” I say with cautious calmness.

He releases the rag and stands up right and folds his arms over his chest with a huff, “ _First_ , you insulted my weight, _and secondly_ you ask Juvia out on a date right under my nose!”

_He heard that..?_

My jaw drops open a little and I feel words on the back of my tongue ready to spill out, _you’re an idiot!_ I wanted to say, but I bite it back and close my lips, shaking my head, I drop my hand from my chin and stand up straight and address this peacefully. _He’s upset because he thinks I’m cheating on him_!

“It’s not like that, Natsu! I wanted you to come with us bec—”

He doesn’t give me a chance to fully explain before he throws the dirty rag straight at my face! I pull it away and toss it to the ground with a disgusted grimace as he stops around the counter to stand in front of me.

“OH! So you wanted me to be there on your little DATE and watch you guys flirt? YOU’RE SICK, GRAY!”

“Don’t go saying stuff like that when you don’t know the full story, you’re being irrational, Natsu, just listen to me for a second!”

I wait for him to argue further, but he presses his lips in a tight line and waits for me to present my case like a cold, unforgiving judge that’s already decided that I’m guilty.

“Look, it’s not like _that_ between her and I. She’s been a really good friend to me lately and I feel bad about breaking her heart… so when I finished with my werewolf mission, I stopped by Lamia Scale and talked to Lyon, and I planned a whole secret double date thing.” After I finished explaining Natsu’s entire demeanor changes, his anger vanishes and a his eyes return to normal.

He rubs his arm and stares down at the floor between us as his cheeks fill with color, “Oh…”

I grab his shoulders tentatively and take a step towards him, “And I was just teasing you earlier, Natsu. I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad.” I assure him, but he doesn’t look up at me. There still seems to be something bothering him.

“What’s wrong..?” I ask softly, my hands slide along his shoulders until they were both resting on his neck with my thumbs lightly caressing his jawline.

His eyes flicker up to me for a moment before he looks off to the side and huffs, “I… feel like I trapped you with me. You had all these options, Gray, but you’re stuck with _me_. And because of _me_ your life is changing completely, forever and none of any of this has been your choice. It’s all been me. I claimed you, I’m the one who ate those flowers and got pregnant, and now I’m forcing you to live with me. You never asked for this. I’m… terrified that you’ll resent me after living with me for a while and want to leave me for someone better, like Juvia.”

My heart sinks after hearing his confession, the whole time I couldn’t stop shaking my head because he’s just so wrong about all of it, “Natsu,” I begin, lifting his chin to make him look at me, “Things might be happening _fast_ but I don’t feel like I’m being forced into this with you. I _want_ to be here, with _you_ , stupid. I’m crazy about you, I have been since we were kids, I don’t want anyone else, I never have, my heart has always been yours, and even… e-even if you broke it I don’t think I could ever give it to another.” My breathing becomes uneven near the end as my emotions swell up inside me.

Natsu’s pouty lip pokes out as he searches my eyes with tear filled ones.

“I’m sorry, Gray! I don’t know why I’m getting so emotional over small things like this!” He chokes out, gently pushing my hands off his face to wipe his eyes on his knuckles.

I laugh softly, “I think it’s because of pregnancy hormones, Natsu.” I shuffle towards him until I can fully wrap my arms around his shoulders; I rest my nose in his hair after kissing his forehead, “Besides, you had a perfectly valid reason for being upset. If I were in your situation I would probably have been angry too if I thought you were going out with a girl I knew had feelings for you on your own.”

Natsu pulls away from me enough stretch up and kiss me. It’s feathery and warm, easy to immerse myself into. I’ve missed this flame brain too much, I’m definitely going to have to talk to him about temporary _normal_ jobs… but that’s something I’m going to bring up later.

When Natsu pulls away from the kiss he scowls at me, “Yeah, you need to shave the beast off your face. It keeps poking me and I don’t like it. No more kisses until it’s gone.” He says as he rubs the back of his knuckles against my scruffy chin and glares at the prickles with offence.

I roll my eyes, “Fine, but I don’t know where any of my shaving stuff is since Juvia packed my stuff.” I mumble as I remember everything I own is in boxes outside.

“Let’s go get your stuff and bring it in, by then dinner should be done.” Natsu says, taking my hand and pulling me towards the door.

“What exactly are you making anyway? I’m surprised it smells so good.” I tease, poking him in the back as he opens up the front door and we go outside.

He mock laughs at me before he answers, “It’s a vegetable rice stew.”

That’s pretty surprising. His usual diet consists of meat, ramen and spicy and last I checked Happy throws fits about meals that aren’t fish related. _Maybe that’s why I haven’t seen him; he could be out somewhere pouting._

“I bet Happy was thrilled to hear that.” I chuckle. He releases my hand as we approach the full cart.

“Happy? Yeah, but we had fish in the freezer so I cooked that up for him earlier just after Master Mavis left. He was so tired from flying me back here that he wanted to go to bed early, so he’s asleep in the bedroom.” He explains while grabbing the closest box and cradling it in his arms.

My eyes widen at the mention of the First Master.

“Mavis was here?” I ask, trying to keep my tone even, but I know he can hear my heart, he’ll know I’m nervous! “Is something wrong?” I add in, _hopefully he’ll think I’m just anxious about her showing up unexpectedly and think something dangerous is going on_.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it! She figured out that I’m pregnant and got excited so she dropped by to feel my stomach I guess.” He says as he turns towards the house, I grab a box and follow him close behind.

_Why would she do that? And she never came back to me, so does that mean something is wrong with that kid?_

I swallow thickly as a nervous sweat forms on my brow.

After Natsu sets the box down in an empty corner of the living room he turns around and grins at me widely as he touches his stomach, “She said our baby has a pure soul!” He beams with excitement.

I blink owlishly in surprise, all the tension leaves my body and I relax a little, “D-did she really..?”

Natsu nods, skipping over to me, he eagerly grabs the box in my arms and sets it down, standing back up straight he grabs my hands and puts them on his lower abdominal, “Look at him the same way Gramps told you to before,”

I gawk at Natsu for a moment and an unpleasant chill runs up my spine. _He called it “him,”_ that demon child from my dreams pops into mind.

Unable to find any words to get out of this situation, I close my eyes and comply with my boyfriend’s request.

The life energy inside Natsu has doubled in size, although still tiny, it’s much brighter, instead of a red ember it’s a bright, yellow and white, shimmering and pulsating with life. It was almost like looking at the sun from the bottom of a deep tunnel, although far way, I could still feel warmth radiating from this light. But there was a faint pinkish glow beyond it that I couldn’t exactly make out.

My eyes flutter open and I stare at Natsu timidly, my throat feels dry and I’m not exactly sure what to say, so I ask him, “What does it feel like?”

He smiles at me and hums in thought, placing his hands over mine and threading out fingers together as he thinks.

“It feels like… the warmth of a summer’s day is captured inside of me, just this tiny ball of energy. Always there, growing a little more every day, and, it’s _weird_ to think about because it’s a _person_ , a little guy beginning his life. It’s _our_ little guy.” Natsu speaks fondly, his smile doesn’t falter for even a second.

My chest swells with adoration and guilt. I love how happy he is about this, but I’m still terrified of this kid, even more so now that Natsu is referring to it as a _he_ , all I can see is that _thing_ inside of him, calling me _dad_ with my Fairytail family dead behind him. I push away that train of thought and swallow down all my fears. I can’t let this worry Natsu.

“Pretty neat,” I tell him with a small smile and he flashes me a grin in return.

 

\---

Moving all the boxes inside wasn’t difficult and didn’t take very long, but afterwards the living room was pretty crowded. The dinner Natsu made was actually really good; afterwards I searched through boxes until I found the one containing everything I used to keep in my bathroom. I set it on the bathroom floor and pulled the things out I needed when I showered. Shampoo, body wash, razor, then set them all on the edge of the tub after I was done. I got to admit, I feel so much better being clean and without a scratchy beard on my face. After my shower it was pretty late, so Natsu and I shut everything in the house down and climbed into bed with an already unconscious Happy.

 

…

 

I wake up in the middle of the night to continuous sharp pains in my side like I was being stuck with multiple needles at once.

Groggily I turn over and feel beside me in the dark, my hand comes in contact with a fuzzy ear, then a head. _Happy_ …? I look over my shoulder to find he’s the cause of my distress; he’s kneading me in his sleep! How did he even get over _here_? When I fell asleep I was cuddling up to Natsu!

I gently pry Happy’s claws off me and turn him over so he’s facing Natsu’s side of the bed instead of mine, and just in case, I take one of the _many_ pillows Natsu possesses but doesn’t _need_ and wedge it between us just in case.

Satisfied, I close my tired eyes and wait for sleep’s gentle swaying to pull me back out to sea.

 

…

 

I jolt out of my half-asleep haze as something thumps against my forehead. I grumble groggily, deciding to ignore it and keep my eyes shut. It happens again.

And again.

And again.

AND again.

AND AGAIN!

My bloodshot eyes shoot open and the first thing I see is something blue and fuzzy in my peripheral vision, then it whacks my forehead _again_.

I sit up, the springs in the mattress creek in protest as I turn to my side and discover Happy is sleeping on the pillow by my head and the thing thumping my in the head all this time had been his twitchy tail.

The second thing I notice is that Natsu is no longer in bed, or even in the room for that matter. _He probably had to go to the bathroom… he did drink A LOT of water during dinner_.

I pick Happy up gently and set him over on Natsu’s side before working on a pillow wall so that he can’t harass me anymore tonight. After sectioning off my own little area, I flop around, my back to it and close my eyes once more, hoping for a restful night’s sleep.

 

\---

 

_The summer’s sun is beaming down on my bare back as I swing an axe over my head and drop it down onto a piece of wood I have propped on a chopping stump. The log splits and falls separate ways into the pile I’ve been making all afternoon._

_I stop chopping wood, breathing hard and I squint up at the mid-day sun, wishing it would set already so I could cool down. My throat is painfully dry._

_I drop my axe and let it rest against the stump, patting down my heavy lumberjack overalls in search of a canteen, a flask, just something!_

_My pockets are barren, and a quick look around me reveals that I’m on the edge of a forest, just before a beach that will lead me to the sea, I’m way too parched to think about things like purifying it, my throat burns each time I swallow and any type of water would be welcome at this point._

_I run across the beach, heavy boots sinking into the sand and making the journey even more of an effort. When I reach the shore I keep going until I’m thigh-deep before I drop to my knees in the shallow water like an anchor and cup my hands beneath the surface, bringing the tantalizing fluids up to my mouth and slurping it down, handful after handful until the burn lessened._

_With my thirst sated I realize my face feels like it might be sunburnt, it’s the only part of me not wrapped up in thick clothing. I spash my face a few times, the cold feels like Heaven on my scalding skin._

_Something moving beneath the water in front of me has me jerking up to my feet, but the weight of my clothes and heat exhaustion drags me back down, causing me to fall on my rear and stare on in horror as whatever creature beneath the waves comes towards me._

_I didn’t at all expect to see a person pop up, or for that person to be Natsu!_

_I breathe a sigh of relief and relax. Something was different about him, for one, his hair is insanely long, two strands pulled forward and the rest are braided behind him. It’s an odd look on him, considering that I’ve never seen his hair go past his ears before._

_“What are you doing creeping around in the water like that?” I ask plainly._

_Wait what is that behind him in the water?_

_He tilts his head, blinking at me slowly, like he didn’t understand what I was saying, and he reaches out to me, water dripping from his fingers._

_A black tail pulls out of the water behind him and flops back down. Wait, what the hell? Is he a mermaid?_

_Woah! Hold on a second! I’m dreaming! This is a dream! Holly hell! I’m asleep right now!_

_Realizing this, I am filled with new intrigue. I take his hand and allow him to pull me forward, deeper into the water._

_“H-hey, where are we going..?” I ask nervously, he still hasn’t said a word nor has he broken eye contact with me._

_Is this going to turn into another nightmare?_

_Mermaid-Natsu kisses me abruptly, throwing his arms around my neck to pull me closer as the waves push and pull us closer to sea. This dream feels so vivid! His lips are so incredibly soft!_

_This… is interesting..! It’s a dream after all so why not go with it?_

 

\---

**December, 15 th, X791**

**Natsu and Happy’s**

**Natsu Dragneel**

 

I got up early in the morning because I couldn’t stand knowing there was clutter all over my house, unorganized and chaotic! At about five AM I got up and started in the bathroom with Gray’s bathroom amenities! Just leaving them on the edge of the tub like that drove me insane last night, I tried everything in my power to leave it be but I couldn’t! I put his shampoo and body wash on the corner rack _inside_ the shower along with his razor. Then I sort out the rest of the stuff in his box. Toothpaste, in the cabinet behind the mirror, hand soaps, under the sink because I already have some out, loofa? I hang it up in the shower on the hook beside mine.

The last things in the box are prescription medication. I know I shouldn’t really snoop in other people’s personal items, but Gray is my mate and soon to be father of my child, I feel like this gives me the _right_ to snoop through his stuff. There are a total of five; one of them I know for sure is just headache medicine, and the second and third I grab are two different types of vitamins, one says B6, and the other is D. I’m not sure what the first one is but I know D has something to do with the sun. The last one has a really long name I can’t even read and I don’t even want to try. With a shrug I put them all in the cabinet, organized on the top shelf with the labels facing outward.

With Gray’s box emptied, I do a quick cleaning of the bathroom, ridding the sink of last night’s toothpaste residue, and the shower of all the stray whiskers that Gray shaved off. _He’s so messy!_

 _Everything is exactly as it should be_. I think as I survey with a satisfied grin. Now to deal with the rest!

…

I’m pretty shocked at how organized everything is in these boxes! Juvia labeled them and everything! Nothing is crammed in awkwardly or overstuffed. She even folded up Gray’s clothes, which irks me some and has me grumbling angrily to myself while unfolding _all_ his clothes just to _refold_ them. I usually hang all of my clothes in my closet because I don’t like them to have wrinkles, so my dresser is always pretty empty, so I bring all his stuff into the bedroom, quiet to I don’t wake up him or Happy and I set the pile of shirts and pants on top. _How should I organize this_? I wonder, tapping my finger against my lip as I look between the six available choices.

That’s when I hear a low grumble from Gray, followed by a desperate whisper-cry from Happy, “Natsuuu…!” He says pleadingly.

I can’t see Happy from this angle so I climb onto the bed and crawl across to peer over Gray’s shoulder.

I choke on a laugh at what I see!

Gray is sound asleep, cuddling Happy with his face nuzzled against my little buddy’s forehead, smiling contently in whatever dream he’s in.

Happy’s eyes flick up to me with desperation, “Help me..! It’s like cuddling a snowman, Natsu!” He whines, reaching out to me with a desperate paw.

I cover my mouth with my hand to smother my laughter, but it keeps bubbling out and I can only shake my head at him in response. _This is too cute!_

“I’m serious! I’m gonna get hypothermia, and he keeps kissing my head and it’s weird, Natsu!!” Happy grumbles at me.

“Aww..! He’s having a sweet dream, Happy!” I coo, reaching over to scratch behind Happy’s ear. He turns his head to try and bite me, so I bap him on the nose with my finger.

“I don’t care! Help me out here, man!” He says, squirming in Gray’s hold.

I snicker, but decide to help him out, I know from experience that Gray is cold, and it probably will give Happy hypothermia if he’s like this for too long.

I pat Gray’s cheek softly, “Gray…” I whisper, gently, I ruffle his hair, but he only grumbles in his sleep and makes a discontented face and remains in his dreams. I don’t really wanna wake him anyway, so I give up on my attempts.

I pry his arm off of Happy easily, and as soon as the Exceed is free, he leaps off the bed and runs out of the bedroom, “I’M FREE!” He cries with joy. _What a spaz!_

Gray sighs softly in his sleep, turning over, feeling around for his _cuddle buddy_ , I bite back a laugh and reach behind me for a pillow and place it in his arms. He squeezes it with content and relaxes. I would have happily went back to bed with him but I still have a lot to do, things to put away.

I lean over him and leave a small peck on his cheek before crawling off the bed and crossing the room back to the dresser to resume my mission.

 

 

\---

 

**December, 15 th, X791**

**Bosco, Dark Forest**

**Mavis Vermillion**

 

Finding Zeref isn’t difficult, but it is a little time consuming. Death follows him wherever he goes, and leaves behind a trail of angry spirits.

Anyone who might happen upon him in the forest might assume he was a monk doing some meditation training. Quiet and peaceful, sitting with his legs crossed beneath a shady tree with his eye resting. This sight used to fill me with giddiness and joy, but now I feel only anger.

I stand beside him, glaring down at his relaxed profile. He knows I’m here yet he doesn’t even try to acknowledge me!

He doesn’t deserve pleasantries so I get straight to the point of why I’m here, “Natsu is your brother, isn’t he?” I ask snappishly.

“ _Who.._?” Zeref asks, cracking an eye open to look in my direction. _I wish I could hit him!_

“ _Zeref_ …” I use a warning tone, clenching my fists as I step over to stand directly in front of him, “You know perfectly well _who_ he is. I can see it in your eyes.”

“But they’re closed.” He retorts apathetically as he closes back up his eye.

I reach out to smack him across the face but all my hand does is pass through him and ruffle up his hair a little.

His eyes snap open and he glares up at me, “Well that was rude of you, Mavis.”

“I can keep this up all day.”

“Oh. Please, have mercy.” He drones out dully and it makes me furious!

I growl through clenched teeth, draw back my hand and then release it with all my pent up anger!

WACK!

I draw back, blinking owlishly with shock. I really hit him! Zeref’s cheek has a red mark on is cheek in the shape of my hand! _My hand!_ _I guess my emotions are really high right now; otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to do that._

“Mavis,” His expression turns from relaxed to irritated as he rubs his stinging cheek.

“There’s more where that came from! Tell me the truth, Zeref! Or prepare yourself for another assault!”

His silence speaks louder than words.

“I don’t understand, why wouldn’t you want to go to him and tell him the truth? How is it even possible that he’s your brother?” I ask firmly.

He looks away from me, glaring off to the side with that ridiculous pouty look on his stupid face.

I slap his cheek continuously, they aren’t as strong as the one from before, but I still hear a small slapping noise sound and his cheek jiggles after each swat.

“Zeref, Zeref… Zeref.”

I add my other hand into the equation, slapping both his cheeks at once, “Tell me,” I demand, developing a rhythm. _His face makes a good bongo drum._

“Zeref, I don’t need to eat, or sleep, I can follow you around for _weeks,_ or if I have to, _months_ , just doing this, and maybe a little of _this_!” I take both my hands and push them back through his hair, ruffling it around until the short black strands are standing chaotically, “How do you like that? I ruined your hair.”

He smiles faintly and nods in approval, “It’s actually pretty nice.”

I huff, yank my hands out of his hair and slap him across the face again!

He rubs his jaw and chuckles, “That’s nice too.” Then he turns his head and taps his finger against his other cheek, “How about a little on this side?”

I stomp my foot, “ZEREF!” I snap impatiently.

Zeref sighs heavily and slumps back against the tree. He squeezes his eyes shut and scratches the back of his neck, “It’s a long story.”

“I have plenty of time.” I remind him curtly.

He scrubs his face with his hands with agitation, I’m not sure if it’s from me or just thinking about his past.

With a reluctant sigh Zeref looks up at me and begins, “The quick version; Natsu was killed when he was little, along with our parents… Devastated, I started researching dark magic to try and bring him back, he was everything to me. But during my research this curse was put on me, I needed someone to stop me from myself, and when I revived Natsu, he wasn’t the same, he wasn’t human anymore, he became the strongest demon I’ve ever created, and I hoped someday he would be able to stop me for good, and Igneel was a close friend of mine so I asked him to train Natsu while I created the Eclipse Gate. Igneel and several of his parasitic friends went through gate from inside of orphaned children and came out the other side in the year X777.”

My features soften a little out of sympathy, “It sounds like you started out with good intentions, what happened, Zeref? You are an incredibly talented wizard, you could have tried to make a device to take your powers away and chose to raise Natsu instead of send him away with a dragon.”

“I was barely in control of myself all those years ago, and not long after I shut the gate I lost control. After all I’ve done, I don’t deserve that kind of life. Natsu _will_ kill me or I will bring the wrath of Acnologia down upon Earth-Land until nothing but ash and ruin remain.” He promises coldly as he stands up, glaring down at me with a hint of red in his usually dark eyes.

I step closer to him, I’m not afraid, “But… Zeref, you said you _created_ Natsu, he’s one of your demons, if _you_ die, he will too. You can’t really want that!” _And he’s a Fairytail wizard, I would never let that happen!_

He laughs bitterly, “Trust me; it will be for the best. As soon as his demon potential is awakened, he will no longer be himself, and like the rest of my creations, he will cause devastation.”

“There has to be another way, Zeref.”

“No.” He retorts, turning his back to me and walking away. I hurry after him, _curse his long legs!_

_If he decides to stay on this path and unleash Acnologia that means Natsu will have to fight him, and if he defeats Zeref then he’ll go down with him. I need to say something!_

“He’s starting a family!” I blurt out fanatically, he comes to a stop but doesn’t turn to face me, _I need to persuade him!_ “Zeref, he’s pregnant and he’s with someone that makes him happy. Don’t you want your brother to keep that happiness? Can’t you think of another way? Your current path doesn’t end in happiness for you either; don’t _you_ want to someday be a family with Natsu again? You can have a normal life, Zeref. Don’t go don’t this path, please.”

Zeref turns around slowly, his expression is filled with confusion, “Natsu is… _pregnant_?” He asks softly, searching my eyes for deception.

“I saw the life growing inside of him with my own eyes.”

Zeref blinks as if he were trying to wake up from a strange dream. His brows tighten and he opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out.

“Who is the father..?” He asks darkly, his eyes going fully red as his powers start swirling in the air around us.

_I didn’t think this would make him angry! This isn’t what I thought would happen! What will he do if I tell him it’s Gray?_

“I’m not telling!” I declare stubbornly, folding my arms across my chest.

He spins around, his cape passing through me as he stomps away, “Then I will find out myself, Mavis.”

I hurry after him, grab on to the back of his cloak, but it does nothing my feet drag in the dirt as he pulls me along, “What do you plan on doing!?” I ask frantically.

He doesn’t answer me. _Why does he have to be like this?!_

“Zeref..!”

 

\---


	17. X791-Present- Lazy afternoon snack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains the sexuals. I figured my pervy readers would appreciate this, haha I'm not very good at THIS type of writing so, proceed as you will

**December, 15 th, X791**

**Natsu and Happy’s**

**Natsu Dragneel**

By about I _think_ eleven-thirty I finished up unpacking all of Gray’s stuff and I took the cardboard boxes outside to the burn-put and turned them to ash. The snow is getting pretty thick, but the cold never bothered me so hey, whatever. I tossed a fireball at the pile and watched the flames lick up the sides of the flammable materiel hungrily. I like to watch things burn, it’s comforting and beautiful, I see random patterns and shapes it’s more than just destruction to me, its _life_.

Snow started coming down pretty hard mid-way through the burning, so I had to keep feeding the fire to keep it going.

The boxes have been reduced to ash and only small flickers of flames remain and I smile fondly at the flames as they dwindled with my hands in my pockets and watched the snow come down in heavy flurries, that’s when I had this _bazar_ craving. I want to eat the snow.

I furrow my brows at that and scoff, reaching down to touch my stomach where I felt that persistent warmth, my little sunshine.

“Seriously..?” I ask him quietly, chuckling with a shake of my head. I’ve tasted snow before out of curiosity and it’s not even worth it. The only icy thing I’ve ever had that tasted good was Gray’s magic—my eyes spring open wide when my taste buds tingle with desire at the memory.

“Natsuuu!” Happy’s call pulls me out of my daze and has me turning around to face the Exceed as he flies towards me.

“Yeah, Happy..? What’s up?” I ask cheerfully.

“Do you have plans on going to the guild today?”

I think about it with a contemplative hum, “I was thinking about stopping by there before Gray and I go on that double date with Juvia and Lyon tonight.”

Happy grins widely at that and gasps, “Since when are Juvia and Lyon together..?” Happy asks with loud enthusiasm.

“They aren’t, not yet at least. Gray set it up as a secret double date, Juvia doesn’t know. He wants to play cupid I guess.” I explain with a faint smile. _He’s really romantic at heart_ , big softy.

“That’s sweet… but hey, can I be honest with you, Natsu?” Happy asks, his smile faltering.

“Yeah sure, what’s up, buddy?” _What could be bothering him_? _Is it something serious?_

“Your boyfriend is a weirdo, he talks in his sleep and he hogs the bed.” Happy states flatly.

I bust up laughing, “YOU are the bed hog, Happy!” I say with a playful slap to his back.

He doesn’t seem amused, _is there more on his mind_?

“You okay, Happy?”

Happy rubs his arm and frowns, “I kept waking up last night to him getting all _grabby_ and _cuddly_ with you and it was weird for me…”

I recall waking up once during the night too, when I went to bed I was cuddling Gray and when I woke up the next time Happy was between us. Did he wiggle his way between us so we couldn’t cuddle?

“Why was it weird?” I ask gently.

“Well… you guys are a _couple_. I just felt like you guys might forget I was there and try to get naughty with me right there awkwardly hanging off the other side of the bed!”

I know this is a genuine concern of Happy’s but it’s really ridiculous! I can’t resist, I bust up laughing all over again, nearly crying over this!

“HAPPY! Gray and I would NEVER do anything like that with you even _home_! I promise you!” I say between fits of giggles. Poor Happy looks so flustered!

With a pouty _hmph_ sound he turns his back to me, “Well whatever! I’m going to hang out at the guild today, I’ve missed everyone, and I don’t want to sit around being an awkward third wheel while you and _Graaay_ smooch-y smooch each other to oblivion!”

I wave him off, smiling after him, “Make sure you check out the mission board and snag a good one for us while you’re there! Gray and I will drop by after our date and the three of us can come back home together, alright!?” I call out.

Happy waves his hand as he flies off head, “Aye, sir!”

I still get nervous whenever he goes anywhere by himself. I know Happy is more than capable of going from our house to the guild by himself but I _worry_ , I always do!

 

…

 

When I get back inside my house I stomp the snow off my boots on the welcome mat before walking in, I slip out of them by the door and leave them against the wall with the other shoes.

It looks kind of homey with Gray’s stuff in here. He had a shelf packed up that I assembled myself and put over against the wall beside the bedroom door so I could fill it with his books and knick-knacks. I found a lot of his sketch books and journals but I didn’t have the chance to look through them because I was in _organization mode_. I’ll definitely snoop later! Other than the books he didn’t really have much aside from clothes, memorabilia from past missions, some kitchen appliances that I stored away in cupboards and more bedding, the sheets I put away with the plans to wash later and his blankets I just threw them on top of Gray, the bastard didn’t even wake up!

Speaking of sleeping beauty, I wonder if he’s awake, it’s almost the afternoon! I listen to the house carefully, searching for the sound of Gray snoring, but I don’t find it, instead I hear the sink in the bathroom going along with the gentle brushing of a tooth brush’s bristles.

I’d like to go in there and hug him, maybe harass him for sleeping so late, but my stomach grumbles with demand so I head into the kitchen instead. I snack on an apple while I prepare a pot of coffee, I’ve known Gray for long enough to know he can’t start his mornings off properly without at least one cup of it, and after that’s all set I look around in the fridge for a snack and decide on heating up leftovers from last night, even though it didn’t really appeal to me, actually my eyes keep wandering to the window above the kitchen sink, staring at the flurries of snow with a bit of drool dribbling down my chin.

_I should ask Master Mavis next time she’s here if craving snow is a normal thing_.

My hunger filled daze is interrupted when Gray trudges out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, like a predator drawn in by the scent of a fresh kill, he wordlessly searches my kitchen for the mugs, finds one and fills it up with the fresh brew I just made.

He sits at the breakfast bar in a groggy haze as he stares down at the steaming cup disdainfully. I probably made it too hot for his sensitive Ice Princess tongue. He confirms my suspicions when frost forms around his hands the cup.

When my food finishes heating up, I pour it into a bowl and bring it over with me to eat it on the barstool next to Gray’s, making a mental note to either get a kitchen table or another stool, (our family is growing, after all. And I definitely have enough room for a table.)

I nudge Gray with my knee with my own and chuckle at his grunting response, “Did you sleep well, Princess?” I tease.

“Damn cat kept harassing me during the night…” He grumbles before bringing his mug to his lips.

I almost choke on my food because of a laugh that spurts out of me! “He actually just talked to me about that, he said he was doing that because he was afraid we would forget he was in bed with us and that we’d end up getting naughty with him right there.”

Gray scoffs, a hint of a smile ghosting his lips as he shakes his head, “Are you serious? THAT’S what his problem was? What a little weirdo, I wouldn’t even be able to do anything knowing he was just in a _different_ room! I’d be too afraid he would hear me!”

I raise my brow with fascination, scanning over him with a small smirk, “Hear _you_? Are you loud or something..?”

Gray’s posture becomes tense and his eyes widen. I hear his heart thumping delightfully fast, making my grin wider. _This_ is a subject he and I haven’t touched since our little escapade “ _getting wood._ ” Whenever I bring it up, Gray gets really flustered and makes up excuses. _People will hear us,_ or, _I need to shower first_ , oh and my favorite, _we can’t do this in a public place!_ I’m starting to think he’s the _farthest_ thing from an exhibitionist and it’s kind of shocking _and_ adorable at the same time that he’s so shy about getting caught or being anywhere we could be, funny thing though, _I_ just might be an exhibitionist, the thought of getting caught or people watching us is pretty exciting to me!

“Uhhh…” He quickly brings the mug to his lips again and drinks it down like he’s the thirstiest man in all of Earth-Land.

I shovel down my food and chew happily as I watch him squirm, it’s pretty entertaining. I wonder why he’s so shy about this subject, he can’t be self-conscious, he’s naked almost _all_ the time, in fact he’s is right NOW! His boxers are on the floor under his chair. _When did that even happen_?

Gray finally sets his empty mug down, “I- um… I guess you’ll just have to find out yourself one day…” He says shyly, running his finger around the rim of his cup as he stares off to the left with redness in his cheeks.

“You know, we’re alone right _now_ …” I lean over to him, putting my lips at his ear, “ _And_ you’re naked,”

He jolts at that, “WHAT?” He covers himself bashfully and looks around for his pants in a panic.

“I’ve seen you naked more times than I can possibly count, Gray.” I remind him with a teasing grin.

“I-it’s different now!”

“Oh yeah..?” I slide off the stool and stands up behind him, gently running my fingertips up his back as I lean over to kiss his jaw just below his ear, “So what do you think? Do you wanna do naughty things with each other?” I murmur sensually between kisses, the more I pepper down his neck the less tense he becomes.

His breathing hitches when I flick my tongue against that sensitive spot just below his Adam’s apple, “C-can we um… move to the bedroom?” He asks timidly, fidgeting uncomfortably. _He really is shy!_ This is such a strange sight, but also oddly wonderful, knowing only _I_ will see this uncool and nervous side of Gray.

“Whatever you want,” I mutter against his skin before pulling away, grabbing his wrist in the process.

When we get into the bedroom I realize that I’m not entirely sure what comes next. _We’re really doing this, finally!_ But I’ve only dreamed about _during_ , not what leads up to it!

Both of us sit on the edge of the bed while holding hands, nervous fluttering fills up my stomach. _Should I just jump right into this? Grab and tug? Or should I get some lotion and prepare myself? Or, maybe I should lay out a towel first, I mean, I sure as hell don’t have any condoms and I didn’t find any in Gray’s stuff!_

“N-Natsu, can I confess something?” Gray asks with shakiness I his voice.

I nod, “Yeah, of course.”

“I’ve never done _this_ before, and it feels kind of weird doing it with you—and I don’t mean that in a bad way! It’s just; I never really thought you would be a sexual person, for all these years I just, I dunno, thought you were ignorant to things like that.”

I laugh loudly at that, _what does he even mean!?_ “ _Everyone_ is a sexual person, Gray, it’s human nature! Even if I wasn’t well educated on it I’d still wanna do it, its instinct!”

He sighs, covering his reddened face with his free hand, “Don’t laugh! I’m nervous enough as it is!”

I chuckle, wrapping my arms around his shoulders to pull him into a hug, “Aww, Gray, are you _shy_?”

Gray responds with a nod before turning into me and wrapping his arms around my waist, “Can we go slow..?” He asks, muffled against my shoulder.

Something clicks in my head and I suddenly feel guilty for teasing him. _He’s nervous because it’s his first time; he’s probably even more lost than I am!_

“Gray, do you want to stick to light things for now and work or way up? Because we don’t _have_ to go all the way today, or even next week, I’m happy with whatever, so don’t feel pressured, okay?” I ask, stroking his cheek with my knuckles soothingly.

He pulls up and looks directly into my eyes, face burning red and eyes hardened with seriousness, “That’s not it! I don’t mind having… the _full_ sex with you at all! I _really_ want to! I just never thought I would be this nervous about it when the time actually came, s-so… would you mind leading?”

I nod, reaching out to cup his face, “Yeah, just tell me what’s too much,” I say, and then lean in to kiss those cold, sweet lips.

Gray sighs softly as he eases into the kiss, tilting his head and parting those perfect lips as I swipe my tongue across them. _Winter-mint and coffee,_ my hands slide up his chest, tracing the shape of his muscles all the way up to his neck. _Mark him!_ I suck his lower lip between my teeth and _bite_! Gray makes a lovely sound that sends a shiver done my spine. _Oh god, I wanna hear that again!_

I grab a fistful of Gray’s hair and ease his head back to expose his throat to me, my mouth attaches to his chilly skin below his jaw, suckling until a purplish bruise formed beneath my lips. _Mine!_

“Natsu…” Gray puffs, pulling away from me to lie back on his elbows and I follow suit, crawling to him on my hands and knees, I lean down and attach my mouth to his collarbone and let the hand not on the mattress supporting me trail down his chest with a teasingly light touch that has him shivering involuntarily the lower my mischievous fingers tread.

I don’t feel nervous anymore, any anxiety I had before has vanished, each touch is confident. My hand slips over the curve of Gray’s belly, down through his trimmed pubic hair and finally they reach their destination.

While I trace light little lines up and down the length of his cock I attach my mouth to his nipple and lave at it lewdly with my lips and tongue.

Gray’s breath catches in his throat, and at the same time, his dick throbs and one of his hands shoot into my hair and pull it hard enough to make my eyes water, but it feels kind of good so I don’t mind!

I suck the bud into my mouth and gently grind it between my teeth while wrapping my index finger around the head of his cock while smearing around the clear pre cum leaking out of the tip with my thumb. Gray arches his back, tossing his head to the side as fluttery sigh escapes him.

My mouth leaves his skin with a wet _plop_ noise and I look up at him, _I’ve barely started and he’s already a mess!_ That half lidded look of _need_ on his face stirs something primal in me. _I want to make Gray more than just a mess, I want to wreck him!_ I move my grip on his arousal midway down, then back up, keeping up a tight pressure, and repeat. A whimper bubbles up in the back of his throat and he bites his already swollen lower lip to keep those beautiful noises inside. I squeeze a little more on his cock and move faster, the moment he releases his lip to gasp, I’m diving in for a kiss to taste those lovely sounds on my own tongue.

The kiss is rougher than I intended, our teeth accidentally knock against each other at first, but neither of us give a damn! Its sloppy and passionate, tongue and lips collide haphazardly.

“You look gorgeous like this, Gray, I could just eat you!” I whisper huskily with my lips brushing against his at every syllable.

“ _Eat_ m-me? I-is that supposed to sound sexy?” Gray huffs with breathless giggles.

I release his cock, my hand feeling a little sticky, _oh well_ , and I sit back on my knees, climb off the bed and stand by the edge, he sits up and eyes my curiously, opening his mouth to speak but I beat him too it!

“Hell yeah it is!” I beam enthusiastically, putting my hand up on his shoulder to shove him back down before grabbing him by the hips and pulling him over so that his legs are dangling over the edge of the bed, “I’m gonna eat you up, Gray.” I promise as I place my hands on his knees and lean in close enough to give him a longing smooch.

“W-what… exactly do you mean by that?” He stammers nervously as he props himself up on his elbows.

I smirk, biting my lip as I sink down to my knees in front of him as I push his apart, never breaking eye contact, “What do you _think_ I mean?”

Gray swallows hard, unable to respond. My eyes flicker downward as I rub my hands along his inner thighs in soothing patterns and random shapes, up to his hip bones, but only one comes back down to grasp the base of his erection. It’s pretty impressive, my mouth waters, I don’t deny my craving for long and dive right in, _who has time to tease anyway?_

“Holly _fuck_ , Natsu..!” His hands fly into my hair and hold on for dear life!

Hearing Gray swear and sounding so completely _ruined_ encourages me to take him deeper! I flatten my tongue against the bottom of his cock and hum as I bob my head leisurely along his length, taking more into my throat each time until my nose brushed up against his body.

“Ahuaa! N-Natsu! Your teeth..!” Gray mutters with ragged breath, one of his hands falls from my hair and flops onto the mattress beside him and clenches the sheets.

_Oops! My bad!_ I open my jaw wider to alleviate some of the scraping. It’s a little awkward for the first few minutes, with Gray having to keep reminding me to be careful of my teeth, but I get down a good rhythm that has him choking back moans and gyrating his hips with the motion of my mouth with my name rolling off his tongue like prayers. _Slide out, wiggle my tongue along the underside of his cock and suck until I reach the end, suck a little extra hard on just the tip, then relax, take it back in while humming, repeat!_

My jaw is starting to ache, but I love this! Tasting him, hearing him moan and call my name is affecting me in the best ways! My pants feel way too tight, it’s almost painful.

Gray starts tugging on my hair, like he’s trying to get my attention, “N-Natsu… I can’t—I’m gonna… s-stop! You gotta stop—aaughh!”

_I don’t understand what he’s saying!_ I pull back to tell him to speak up but as soon as my lips are off of his dick, he releases right in my face!

…

_Drip._

There is only one word to describe how I currently feel. _Shocked_ , ok, honestly, maybe it’s not that bad, it’s kind of kinky— _however_ if I open my eyes, we’re going to have a serious problem!

“Um, Gray…” I feel around blindly, one of my hands touches his knee and the other is groping at my bed sheets. _I can’t use that!_

“I-I’m really, _really_ sorry! Um, let me help!” Gray insists, then I feel his hands on my face, his thumbs swiping globs of his cum out of the way, but my eyelids still feel _sticky_ , my whole face does!

“Nah, don’t apologize, its fine! But could you, I dunno, MAYBE get me a wet rag? I don’t want my eyes to get pregnant too.” I ask, feeling some drip from my chin.

I hear the bed shift and Gray steps around me and leaves the bedroom. I strum my fingers against the floor while I wait, hearing him open and shut cupboards, looking for the rags, then _finally_ he turns on the tap. He’s coming back shortly after shutting it off.

“I was trying to warn you, yah know, so you didn’t end up eating it.” He says defensively.

I scoff, “I _wanted_ to eat it!” I hear Gray’s knee joints crack as he bends beside me to my left.

“ _Natsu!_ That’s disgusting! Anything YOU eat, the kid eats!” He tells me, horrified as he slaps a damp rag against my face and starts scrubbing.

“It’s just protein,” I point out with a casual shrug. It’s not like my stomach acids wouldn’t destroy it first!

“It’s not even born yet and we’re already traumatizing the kid.” Gray sighs with exasperation as he finishes wiping off my eyelids gently.

I chuckle at that, opening my eyes in time to see Gray shaking his head, then looks at the rag, at a loss for what to do with it, so I take it and drop it to the floor before inching closer to him, he eyes me warily.

“What’s up..?” He asks with a nervous smile.

“I’m not done with you yet.” I murmur, leaning in close enough for our noses to brush, “I want you inside me, Gray…” I say with my lips brushing up against his, before I claim them in a gentle kiss.

He hums quietly, stroking the side of my face with his knuckles with affection, “A-actually, I’d be more comfortable if… it’s _you_ on top instead…”

I perk up at that, pulling away to search his face, “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” _I thought Gray would be all over an opportunity to dominate me!_

“’Cause I don’t wanna… you know, disturb it,” He says, poking me in the belly briefly to emphasize what he’s talking about. _Wait, maybe he’s right, can sex mess with a pregnancy? I don’t THINK it would because women can and nothing happens, but I’m no lady so maybe I should ask master Mavis, just to be safe._

“Alright, hop up on the bed, Snowflake!” I instruct, standing up myself as I pat on the bed. Gray complies, grumbling about the nickname as he moves into position.

“Are you ready for all _this_?” I ask playfully, gesturing to myself with a devious little smirk, “I’m gonna mimic you!”

Gray deadpans, “You really shouldn’t…”

I unzip my jacket first, “It’s too late… you can’t stop me! I’m like the ocean, always in motion!” I pause my unzipping half way down my chest to instead slide my hands down to my hips and do a little teasing hip thrust.

Gray shakes his head at me, “Please stop, undress normally.”

I spin on my heels, and with my back to Gray I finish unzipping my jacket and shrug it back off my shoulders, my idea was to take it off like a graceful stripper and toss it to the side, but my arm gets caught in one of the sleeves! _Oh well!_

After shaking my arm around wildly and yanking at my jacket, I finally get it off and toss it against the wall in front of me, then my attention goes to the next article of clothing, my pants! I undo the clasp and zipper with ease, shimming them down my hips then letting them fall to my ankles. Next, my t-shirt! I grab at the back of the collar and pull it up over my head, but I get stuck! Why am I stuck!?

I grumble angrily, trying to free myself as I fumble around until my pants trip me up and I fall against something solid that coils around me, and starts _laughing!_

“Hahahahaha! Oh god! Natsu, I love you! Heheheh! You’re such a dork! Lemme help, okay?” He asks, but helps me anyway, yanking my shirt off and throws it down. I turn to face him and shoot him a big grin. _I made him laugh!_

“Me too…” I say softly as I stretch up to kiss his smiley lips! It’s a brief one, but when I pull away I feel oddly exposed. I look down at myself to discover not only are my pants not around my ankles, but my underwear are missing!

I look back up at Gray and pat his shoulder, “Ok I gotta hand it to yah… _that_ was pretty impressive.”

He cups my face and leans down for another kiss, but the laughter bubbling up the back of his throat interrupts us and has me laughing too! It’s contagious!

When we kiss again, our laughter dies down and the passion we had put on hold returns. His tongue probes my mouth as his hands grip my waist and I hold onto his shoulders as I suck the wandering appendage in my mouth.

I don’t notice that he’s pushing me backwards until the back of my knees collide with the edge of the bed. Gray breaks off the kiss to push me down, and he climbs _on me_! His legs straddling each side of my lap and he sits on my thighs. Being this close to him and in this position, naked and vulnerable, stirs that primal urge within me and fills my lower body with electric heat. _Bite him!_ My mind goes blank as I grip his waist and sink my teeth into his shoulder, breaking the skin, I lave at the droplets of blood that rush to the surface. Gray shutters and grips my hair, _gentle_. His renewed erection twitching to life against my thigh tells me he approves, but I feel bad once I look at the vicious mark I left.

“Sorry,” I mutter, kissing the wound tentatively.

“S’okay, I like it…” Gray mutters half coherently, before grabbing my face in his hands and kissing me hard, I smirk against his mouth at that.

“That’s pretty kinky.” I tease him, and he bites my lip, _that shuts me right up_.

My hands explore the shape of his body, searching for sensitive points I could exploit. I rediscover his hips, finding I _love_ how he bucks up his hips whenever my fingertips hit that _good_ spot.

Gray wiggles out of my grip and rolls onto the bed, scooting back to the pillows, I watch him curiously and he bites his lip and scratches his cheek, “So, do you have any lotion?” He asks with a deep blush spreading from his cheeks to the tips of his ears.

“Yeah I do, you eager?” I ask playfully as lean over to my nightstand and fish around in the top drawer.

“And kind of nervous too…” Gray admits as he watches me pull a bottle out and squirt a large amount on my fingers. It’s completely natural so it won’t harm him or leave a weird perfume scent.

“Isn’t that too much?” He asks dryly.

I shake my head, “I dunno,” I scoot closer up to Gray, and he parts his legs with some hesitation, turning his head to a side bashfully then casting his forearm over his eyes. _Is he self-conscious? He really shouldn’t be!_

“You look sexy like this, Gray.” I purr, rubbing my non-slick hand up and down the inside of his right thigh to ease it down and out of my way as I rub my sticky finger around his puckering little opening.

“I feel slutty,” He comments, cheeks burning bright red and his heart is hammering loudly, _music to my ears_!

“Is that a bad thing?” I ask with a curious tilt of my head while watching my fingers circle around his little rear-seat star until I could ease just the tip of my middle finger inside.

“N-no… as long as it’s for _you_ I don’t mind feeling like this.” He admits bashfully, spreading his legs a little wider as I press my slick finger into him up to my knuckle.

“Ooh..? You like being _my_ slut, Gray?” I ask huskily, just saying those words fills me with excitement. I work my finger in and out slowly, watching for any signs of distress in Gray’s face as I do.

Gray presses his lips together as a soft moan bubbles up his throat, “Hell yeah, I do..!” He breathes out with another noise that has my cock twitching painfully and reminding me of my needs.

I bite my lip hard to keep in control of myself. I take the lotion bottle and apply more to my fingers and work _two_ in this time, they slip in somewhat easily, but he’s tense and so sinfully tight! I push them in to my knuckle and hold them still to give him time to adjust to it, and while I wait I lean over Gray and capture his lips heatedly, trailing my free hand up and down his bare torso.

“It’s a little weird…” Gray mutters against my mouth, tangling his hands in my hair.

“It gets better later.” I assure him as I spread my fingers a little and move them around as I lick his lower lip teasingly.

“How would you know?” He scoffs, breaking off our kiss to glare at me with suspicion.

“You could call it a little _self-exploration_.” I explain with a wink that causes my lover to squirm and blush.

“That’s pretty hot.” Gray comments while I ease in a third finger. He bites his lip and closes his eyes. It’s insanely tight so this must be pretty uncomfortable.

“ _You_ are hot.” I correct him, leaning in to smooch those bruised up and swollen lips. _It’s my fault they are like that!_ I think proudly, “You’re insanely sexy, you know that, Gray? And you’re all _mine_ …” I growl possessively, nipping his jaw.

“You talk too much, Natsu.” Gray says with mischievousness in his tone that I don’t get _until_ a cold grip is wrapping around my arousal and giving it a light squeeze while he strokes it languidly.

I groan loudly and drop my head against his shoulder, “Aaah… that’s too good…” Another moan tumbles out of me clumsily as he rubs me with those cold and skilled fingers.

“You’re _still_ talking?” Gray chuckles, moving his hand a little faster.

My ability to think coherent thoughts is taken away by his touch and drives me crazy. _I don’t think I can wait anymore!_

“G-Gray… can I start..?” I ask as I slip my fingers out of him.

“Yeah,” He nods a nervous tremor in his heartbeat as he lets me go and we readjust how we’re positioned, he moves in close, parting his legs around my waist with his lower back propped up with a pillow.

I won’t hurt him. I grab the lotion bottle one last time and squirt a long strip down the length of my cock, then rub it all in. _It’ll go in easy now_. I position myself at his opening, teasingly rub the tip around the little star at first before my patience wears out and I press in, only to _slip_ down his crack.

“Oops…” I try again, pressing just the head in but the slickness of the lotion has me slipping right back out and sliding up and bumping his balls.

“Sorry,” I mumble, holding on to the base of my cock now to keep it steady as I try once more, but I slip the same way I had the first time and I just _lose it_!

“Hehehhahaaha…! Gray, I’m sorry!”

“I _told you_ that you were using too much,” Gray fights back a smile but I hear a few giggles escape him despite his determination to stay composed.

“I-I’m gonna—Hahaha-aah! I’m gonna try slower! Heheh!” I press the head to his opening again and ease in, slowly but surely I watch as half of my dick vanishes inside my lover’s tight body, and _fucks sake_ does it feel good! He’s warm inside and so wonderfully _tight_! I can’t stay still, I move my hips gently, easing in and out of him shallowly, remaining cautious of his comfort, watching for any _bad_ reactions. But his face is blissful, lips parted and usually tense brows relaxed,

“Still feel weird..?” I ask after a while, making eye contact with him, and he does this mixture of a shrug and shaking his head as he stares down at my lips for a moment.

“A good weird… you can go faster…” His gaze shifts back up to my mouth and he reaches up to touch the bottom one with his thumb, “Your lips are all red,” He murmurs.

My tongue darts out to lick his finger mischievously, I love the puzzled look on his face after I do it, he moves his hand away from my mouth and pushes it back through my hair, and grips it tight then pulls me down for a sloppy kiss.

I huff softly against his mouth as I move a little faster, the friction ties up my tongue and it turns all the nonsensical words in my head into gibberish grunts and moans as I switch between kissing him and catching my breath.

Just as I start to get a good rhythm going on, I pull back too far and slip out, I tried to cover it up and go right back in but I slide right back out and the laughter comes back.

“That’s it,” Gray decides, pushing me off of him roughly, and at first I was afraid he was done with me, but points at the headboard and says, “Sit with your back against that,” He instructs, taking charge, I like the authority in his tone, so I obey and scoot back, moving pillows out of my way, he crawls over and straddles my lap, he holds onto the headboard with one hand as he reaches behind himself and grabs ahold of my arousal, guiding it, I watch with fascination and desire, my hands gripping his hips and stroke them gently as he eases himself down, that amazing tightness and warmth sinking back down on my cock as his hips lower.

With me inside, he grips onto the headboard with both his hands now and pulls himself up again, just a little, before sinking right back down and— _holly FUCKING YES!_

“Do that, _more_!” I growl lustfully, tightening my hold on him.

“Ask me nicely.” Gray demands with a teasing smirk as he leans in to kiss along my jaw while moving his hips in torturously subtle ways!

“P-please, Gray…” I huff out, moaning lewdly when he licks the shell of my ear. _Something that stupid shouldn’t feel good_!

Gray starts moving his hips, lifting himself up and lowering with enthusiastic repetition that has me giving into my primitive urges and lifting my hips off the bed to meet him each time he slams down. The sensations have me teetering closer to the edge and the loud and shaky breaths and whines from my lover make me aware that he’s getting there too.

Neither of us last more than a few minutes, (with all that pent up sexual tension and our inexperience, it isn’t surprising) Gray covers me in his sticky fluids for a second time today just before I release my own deep inside of him with a loud _roar_. No, not a cry of passion, _Fire Dragon-Roar_ that shoots across the room and singes the wall beside the door!

I don’t embarrass easily, but _this_ , this moment right here has me covering my face with both my hands and groaning with humiliation as Gray collapses beside me, howling with laughter!

“I didn’t even mean to do that!” I say defensively, punching him in the shoulder, but he just rubs the spot and laughs even harder.

“Sh, shhh, shh…shush, it’s—”Gray snorts, “—HAHAHA!” He covers his mouth and tries to fight it down but he can’t, he crawls over to me and rests his head on my shoulder as I stare off into space with a scowl on my face.

“Heheh, I love you so much!” He manages out, hugging me around the shoulders, kissing my cheek between snorts and giggles.

“I was overwhelmed and it just _happened_..!” I try to explain, but he covers my mouth with his hand and smooches the side of my brow.

“It was amazing Natsu, _all of it_ , the silly parts just made it better!” He assures me, squeezing me in his arms.

I sigh; relaxing slightly and I return his embrace, “J-just don’t tell anyone about the last part…” I grumble, face still burning with shame.

He nods, ruffling my hair up with one of his hands, “Alright,” He agrees, kissing me on the cheek once more before releasing me and shifting off the bed, “I’m gonna go shower, wanna join me?” He asks with a caring smile.

“Sure,” I agree with a shrug. _Saves water and the two of us can’t just sit here in our own messes all day._

My inner dragon grumbles with approval as I watch Gray leave for the bathroom. I finally did it, claimed him _completely_ , the bond has been solidified. A smile spreads out on my lips as warmth spreads throughout my chest. _Gray is mine, and I’m his_!

 

\---


	18. X791-Present-Date night

**December, 15 th, X313**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Gray Fullbuster**

 

Showering with Natsu had been a surprisingly pleasant experience, I kind of expected him to try and have his way with me while we were in there, but all he did was help me wash up and I returned the favor. We exchanged soft kisses and held each other under the warm water for a while as the water washed all the suds from our bodies and down the drain. Every time I get to hold him close like that my heart swells up and I never want to let him go, but eventually we were clean and had to get out.

I didn’t realize I would be feeling so sore after what Natsu and I did, I mean, I felt perfectly fine _after,_ blissful really, but as soon as we started walking on the trail back into town I discovered with every step came a dull ache in my backside, I really shouldn’t be that surprised though, as soon as I saw what Natsu was packing I knew I was destined for trouble, I just convinced myself I was tough and it wouldn’t bother me. _Maybe it’s because it was my first time_.

“Why are you walking like that, Gray?” Natsu grumbles from beside me, fingers interlocked behind his head.

I snort, glaring at him defensively, “It’s _your_ fault, bastard!”

Instead of laughing at me, he frowns and his arms droop down to his sides, “Are you okay?” He asks tenderly.

My cheeks start to burn and I look away, towards the ground and kick at the next rock I see on the path, I’m not used to him being concerned like this, “Yeah, of course I am. Just a little sore…” I grumble, next thing I know Natsu is reaching for my hand and intertwining our fingers, my heart skips a beat.

“I’m sorry, I should have prepared you more and eased into it, but yah know, heat of the moment…” He trails off, scratching his chin with his free hand and I only nod with understanding.

“I wonder though, do you think it would be a better idea if you made things with your ice of various sizes we could use?” Natsu asks, rubbing my knuckles with his thumb lightly. Here he is, casually asking me to make ice dicks, does he even fully understand how what he’s saying affects me? _My_ ice, used as…! _Inside_..! And he had said _we_ , so does _he_ want it like that too?!

No matter how much cold I try to summon my face nearly as hot as Natsu’s hand, “Umm… _maybe_ …” I choke out, feigning to detached and collected.

I expected Natsu to release my hand as soon as town came into view but he doesn’t. I watch his profile with curiosity as I remember his earlier decisions to keep _us_ a secret until we weren’t stressing about the kid. _Maybe it’s because no one is around._ It’s not likely that there are many people out and about today with the ground being covered in layers of snow.

…

Even as we passed through the markets with a handful of random towns people Natsu _still_ holds my hand. As a reflex I had tried to jerk out of his grip the moment I saw a glimpse of another person on the street, but he squeezed my fingers, and I looked at him, but Natsu only smiled brightly and rubbed my knuckles again. _Did being with me intimately change something in him_?

I don’t care who knows honestly, I’ve only ever been worried for his sake, and if he’s ready for this step then so am I! I squeeze his hand in turn.

“So where are we supposed to meet up with Lyon? And isn’t this a little earlier than you planned to go out to dinner?” Natsu asks me as we round a corner, going in the direction of Juvia’s place.

“Didn’t I tell you?” _I could have sworn I told him what this date entails, or maybe I didn’t?_

Natsu shakes his head, “All I know is that it’s a surprise double date.” He shrugs.

I open my mouth to explain but seeing the eagerness on his face has me hesitating and thinking maybe it would be much more fun to keep him in suspense.

“You’ll have to wait and see!” I say with a wink and he _glares_ at me.

“GRAY!” He shouts with distress.

 

…

 

The rest of the way to Juvia’s is full of Natsu switching from sulking to badgering me with questions that get either ignored or shrugged off. He’s threatened to _kick my ass_ four times and _burn me to a crisp_ six. I snicker every time I see little flames come out with each pouty huff. With the amount of heat he’s putting off and it being so cold out makes him look like a freshly baked potato, the angrier he gets the more steam he puts off.

I think he accepts the fact that I won’t tell him sometime as we got up to the gate of the dorm-hall because he’s stopped steaming as badly and he isn’t shouting anymore. Guy’s aren’t allowed inside so we had to tell some scruffy sounding woman through the gate’s intercom that we’re here for Juvia, and after waiting some minutes we were told she would be out soon.

I settle down on the bench across the street with Natsu beside me staring up at the sky with a thoughtful expression on his face as snowflakes fell into his hair. _How can someone be this beautiful while doing nothing_?

Natsu touches his stomach with is free hand and frowns, an unpleasant shiver runs down my spine, _was something wrong?_ His brows knit together tightly and his fingers dig into the fabric of his shirt.

“It’s only been eight weeks, right, Gray?” Natsu asks, eyes flickering up to me with deep concern that his me tightening my hold on his hand as my stomach twists in nervous knots.

“Y-yeah, eight or nine. Why? What’s wrong?” I ask, my voice is shaking and I watch his face go paler by the second, “Natsu?”

He blinks, looking from me to his stomach as he presses his hand more firmly to it, “You’re starting to scare me…” I tell him uneasily as images that _creature_ from my nightmare bursting out of him flash back to me _._

“It feels weird… like, gas, but it isn’t, I can tell it isn’t _my_ body doing it, it’s like… subtle little shivers..!” Natsu jolts at something and his jaw slacks open and his head whips over to stare at me, and just when I thought I might have a panic attack he starts grinning like an idiot and yanks the hand he already has a hold of over to him and slides it under his jacket and presses my palm flat against his belly, skin to skin.

I don’t feel anything at first except the warmth of Natsu and the soft pouch of weight he’s gained; he’s definitely much squishier than he was a few weeks ago. At that moment a whole new feeling of dread and panic collapses on top of me like a bucket of bricks as a million thoughts race through my mind at once. _Does he really feel it moving? I’ve only heard about babies BARELY starting to move after fifteen weeks. This is too soon, isn’t it? Does this have to do with Natsu being a Dragon Slayer? Or did eating so many of those fertility flowers give the thing a growing boost? Will we have less time than we thought to prepare?_

I forget how to breathe when Natsu moves my hand a little to the left, beside his bellybutton, then _it_ happens, the faintest of things, like the heartbeat of a humming bird, my mind comes to a standstill and I just _stare_ at Natsu’s stomach without blinking.

“I can already tell, he’s gonna be feisty just like us, Gray.” Natsu says fondly as he strokes the wrist he’s holding captive with his thumb.

Blinking out of my daze I meet Natsu’s bright eyes and my features soften, all my worries become so miniscule compared to a look like that, so full of happiness and excitement. My chest swells with warmth and I smile. _Master Mavis told me the curse isn’t real, it was all a trick, there isn’t anything evil about it… I mean, the baby._

I keep my hand where it is, feeling the random tremors starting to settle down when a surreal realization crashes into me, _these tremors are from an actual person growing inside of Natsu, a person… a… they… this person is our child._ A lump forms in my throat at that thought and it’s tough to swallow past. I slip my hand out of Natsu’s shirt to instead pull him into a tight embrace, resting my cheek on his shoulder as I interlock my fingers behind him. I try to compose myself, blink away the tears burning my eyes and even my breathing, but I think he knows I’m getting emotional. He’s petting my hair and humming softly as he gently sways us to and fro.

I don’t want to have an emotional break down right now so I focus on everything else, mostly Natsu’s warmth, his humming and the snow fluttering down around us. I turn my face to his neck, inhale his scent, it’s always the same, woodsy, with a hint of cinnamon and something more, like campfire smoke.

“Yah know… I don’t really wanna make a big announcement to everyone about us being together…” Natsu murmurs, twirling one of his fingers around a lock of my hair. My brows tense up and my stomach twists a little at that, it sounds like he wants to keep us a secret, but in his state they’re going to find out sooner or later.

“How come..? They’re gonna find out we’re together anyway at some point soon. But whatever makes you happy, should we, um… be discreet around others?” I mumble, burying my nose into his scarf.

“No, no…! No, not at all, I don’t want to hide and keep secrets anymore, I don’t think I’ll be able to anymore anyway, I like holding your hand and… doing stupid stuff, like… kissing you whenever, I want everyone to know you’re mine, but at the same time I don’t want there to be a big deal made out of it, you know what I mean?” Natsu asks, taking the tips of my ears between his thumb and forefingers to massage them with gentle circular motions; _that actually feels really nice._

He kind of has a point, I mean, I can only imagine if we walked into the guild hand and hand and shouted to everyone that we were a couple. They would probably laugh and think it’s a joke, and then we’d get swarmed when they realized it wasn’t a prank or anything and badgered with millions of questions, most of them would probably be inappropriate, and if we put it out so openly like that people would probably tease us even if we sit beside each other.

“Yeah, I get you. But don’t think with your way we are going to avoid getting heckled all together.” I tell him, turning my face back away from his neck while moving my hands to wrap around him more fully. I notice a pair of joggers in the distance coming our way but I don’t care about strangers. _Besides, with Lucy AND Gajeel knowing it’s likely everyone in the guild has heard rumors so it’s not like they won’t be expecting it_.

“I know, but it’s just less stressful this way, are you okay with that, Gray?” Natsu asks before kissing the side of my temple briefly, and his warm fingers are still on my ears. _It really is so relaxing, I could fall asleep like this_.

Half coherently, with my eyes barely open I mutter a response, “Of course, Love. Whatever you want…” Natsu’s chest vibrates with a giggle as he kisses my forehead again.

“So we’re doing pet names now huh?” Natsu asks teasingly, moving his fingers down to my earlobes.

I blush, but I can’t find it in myself to be too embarrassed about the slip of tongue because it came out so naturally.

“What do you mean _now?_ Haven’t we been using them the whole time we’ve known each other, flame-brain?” I tease.

Natsu snickers at that and, to my dismay, releases my ears to ruffle my hair up instead, “I guess so, _babe_.”

An unpleasant chill rolls down my spine and I sit up to look at him with revulsion, “ _No_ , I HATE when couples call each other _babe_ , it’s so annoying!”

Natsu’s grin widens devilishly, “What if I say it whinier?” He asks with a devious glint.

“I won’t talk to you for the rest of the day.” I warn him, folding my arms over my chest; just the _word_ sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me.

“ _Babbbeeee…._ Don’t be like _thaaat._ ” Natsu does it, he uses it in the WORST whiny way that has me shrugging my shoulders and hopping off the bench.

“Nope..! Bye, Natsu!”

He’s laughing so hard I don’t know how he’s able to stand up so fast and catch up to me, he’s grabbing me by the forearms and turning me around, stepping in close and trapping me with his arms around my neck and he’s giggling while he’s pressing butterfly kisses to my mouth from corner to corner. _How am I supposed to stay mad at him_?

“ _Babe_ your lips are so soft… I could kiss them _all_ day.” Natsu chuckles, followed by another kiss, I groan at _that_ name.

“Jerk… you’re lucky I love you so much,” I mutter as I wrap my arms around his waist and give into his kisses, and not long after I do a loud shriek has us both tensing up and jerking our heads towards the sidewalk, Natsu doesn’t look nearly as concerned as I do when we see Mirajane and Lisanna standing there in matching winter workout gear.

Mirajane’s jaw is nearly hitting her knees and she seems frozen in place, Lisanna is blushing hard, looking shocked but surprisingly happy.

“N-Natsu and _Gray_..? I-is that you?” Mira asks, squinting at us like she wasn’t sure if she could trust her own eyes.

One of my hands slip from Natsu’s waist to rub the back of my head, and I think of to step away from him but he grabs my hand and squeezes my fingers, grinning at her enthusiastically with a friendly waving gesture using his free hand.

“Hi, Mira, and Lisanna..! How’ve you guys been?” He asks with his typically chipper attitude.

Mira fumbles with her tongue, spouting out nonsensical syllables that didn’t quite match up, then her sister takes pity on her and answers for them.

“We’re doing really well, Natsu! Mira and I have started a new training regiment, she’s training me actually, helping me get tougher!” Lisanna boasts, flexing her arms as if to show her muscle, but how would we be able to see them under a jacket like _that_? She practically resembles a marshmallow!

“Really..?! That’s awesome! We’ll have to duke it out sometime so I can see how much you’ve improved!” Natsu chirps, reaching out to ruffle her hair with a grin.

I deadpan at him, _it would take A LOT of improvement on Lisanna’s part before she would be able to face up to Natsu, doesn’t he realize that?_

Lisanna laughs nervously as she tries to fix her hair, but she misses a strand in the back sticking straight up; “I don’t think I’m quite ready to go up against you yet, Natsu!”

I bite my inner cheek to keep myself from laughing when a little wind has the tiny strand doing a little dance, but I end up snoring anyway, earning a curious glance from Natsu, but he shrugs and switches from holding my hand to looping his arm around mine and holding it to him with a hint of possessiveness.

“Keep up the hard work and someday you will be!” Natsu says encouragingly, showing her the thumbs up sign.

“What um… what…! I mean, you two seem to be getting along really well! It’s surprising to see when Erza isn’t around!” Mirajane finally finds her voice. _She means how Erza threatens us to behave and we act all chummy so she won’t pound our faces in_. I can definitely tell Mirajane is asking without _asking_ , I know she saw us kissing, otherwise she wouldn’t have startled us shouting like she did. _It might be interesting to mess with her a little._

“Yeah, we’re working on being better friends to each other… we don’t want to stress Erza out any more than she already is.” I say with a shrug.

“Well that’s very sweet of you guys, and it seems like you are really enjoying each other’s company.” Mirajane points out, gesturing with her eyes to where Natsu is clinging to me. He has his cheek resting against my shoulder now, and I have no doubt that we _look_ the part of a _lovey-dovey couple_. Despite the sweetness in Mira’s tone I can tell she’s just itching to know more.

“You guys almost look like a couple! It’s adorable!” Lisanna giggles, winking at Natsu as she says this and he chuckles.

“Y-yeah..!” Mirajane agrees quickly, cheeks flushed and fists clenching at her sides.

Natsu shrugs, blinking owlishly at them before looking up at me with a _too innocent to be real_ look on his face before looking back to the pair of them with a grin that’s probably gonna make his cheeks feel sore later.

From the corner of my eye I notice Juvia exiting through the gate across the street and looking a little frantic and embarrassed, knowing her she probably feels bad for taking so long to get down here.

“Hi, Juvia..!” Natsu shouts, waving wildly at the water mage instead of giving anymore hints to Mirajane, who puffs in annoyance and glares at me and I pretend I don’t see it.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t expect you two until later; I had soap in my hair when the lobby lady called my room! I tried to shower off quickly! I apologize for making you wait!” Juvia says sincerely, bowing at the waist.

“It’s alright, no worries!” Natsu tells her happily, moving his hand behind me, his palm presses against my lower back, a subtle way of telling me to _move forward_ , so I do.

“We’ll see you ladies later! Have fun training!” I say, looking over my shoulder to wave at the sisters, Natsu does the same and motions for Juvia to follow us in the direction the girls came from.

“Alright..! You guys have fun too, whatever you’re doing!” Lisanna chirps before tugging her sister’s arm and pulling her back onto the sidewalk to continue their jogging.

Despite being hyper aware of eyes on the back of our heads Natsu leans up and kisses my cheek as we’re walking and chuckles at me, “Isn’t _this way_ much more fun?”

“Definitely,” I agree effortlessly.

Juvia tilts her head beside us with confusion, but she doesn’t ask about it, instead she shakes it off and smiles lightly, “So um, why exactly are we leaving so early?” She asks, folding her hands in front of her as we walked. I grin as my plans for today resurface in the front of my mind.

When Lyon and I were kids we used to make up all kinds of games to keep ourselves entertained whenever master Ur had errand’s to run, and when I met up with him and talked about this double date thing, he suggested we try playing one of our old favorites in teams of two.

“Just follow me, I’ll explain when we get there!” I chuckle, guiding the two of them towards the spot I told Lyon to meet us.

 

\---

 

It isn’t that far from town, but far enough into the forest that our shenanigans won’t be a disturbance. We find Lyon in a sizable clearing, already at work making various different ice-beasts for our game, but only he and I would know that.

Upon seeing Lyon, Juvia comes to a dead stop and she stares at my childhood friend with saucer eyes, “Wh… wh…wha…?” She struggles to get out with, pointing from Lyon to me then back to herself. _What is she even trying to ask_?

Lyon hadn’t noticed us yet, so when Natsu calls out a loud greeting to him the other startles and nearly trips over the rabbit sculpture at his feet when he turns to face us.

“Yo, Lyon! Long time no see! What’s with all the monsters?” Natsu asks enthusiastically as he races over to inspect the lineup, and while he’s doing that, Juvia is darting behind me, ducking down and gripping my shoulders tightly.

“Why is _he_ here, Gray?” She hisses near my ear. I don’t answer her yet, _I think I’ll let her imagination go wild for a bit._

Lyon steps back to let Natsu look at his work, smiling politely; “Good to see you, Natsu. Gray didn’t tell you what we’re going to do then, I take it.” Lyon shoots me a glare but he can’t hold a stony look for long when I wiggle my eyebrows at him, he cracks a smile and turns his gaze away.

“Nah, that jerk wouldn’t even give me a hint!” Natsu tells Lyon as he flashes me a glare.

I approach the others with Juvia using me as a shield and Lyon shaking his head in my direction with an exasperated sigh, “Shame on you, Gray. Honestly, I don’t know what you see in this guy,” He tells Natsu with a sympathetic pat to his shoulder.

_So rude!_

“What are you saying, bastard?!” I sneer, reaching to roll up my sleeve only to find my jacket and shirt are missing.

“Nothing… only that you are a terrible partner for not telling your dear Natsu about such a joyous game…” Lyon saying this has Natsu laughing obnoxiously loud and agreeing with him.

“Oh shut it, Lyon,” I grumble, he’s just trying to get me riled up like always.

He sighs, shrugs and looks me over, eyes pausing at my shoulder, “What mauled you?” He asks with a hint of concern mixed in with his apathy.

Beside him Natsu chuckles as he folds his arms behind his head, “It was a salamander!” He answers for me cheerfully.

Lyon narrows his eyes at the bite mark on me before shifting his beady eyes towards Natsu skeptically. He didn’t buy it for a second but he doesn’t pursue the matter any further, he knows _enough_ it seems.

“Right… are you two ready to hear about the game?” He asks, switching topics casually. He’s knows Juvia is hiding behind me, it’s not like he can’t _see_ her staring at him from over my shoulder.

“Heck yeah..! I’ve been ready all damn day!” Natsu enthuses, bouncing on the balls of his feet energetically.

Lyon gives me a look and gestures behind him towards the empty field with a jerk of his head, _he wants me to make the game board I bet,_ “Let’s get everything into place before we explain it, Gray.”

I nod with agreement, explaining it in abstract would make it too confusing, so I shrug Juvia’s grip off me, leaving her exposed without a hiding place as I walk out towards the field.

I picture the game board in my mind, how it had been when Lyon and I were kids. When we thought this up we had been playing _Candy Land_ , but it was boring, we wanted something more, something that challenged our ice-make skills and strength. What I create resembles a giant version of that same Candy Land game board, with miniature ice trees and little houses and other various props throughout the board’s path. After I finish, Lyon sends his creations to the other end of the board to wait on _their_ side of the start line.

With my hands on my hips I turn around to face Juvia and Natsu, the two had matching confused and intrigued expressions as they eagerly waited for an explanation.

The goal of the game is to get to the other side of the board and take the queen, which is usually the gorilla because Lyon is an ass and likes to make things difficult. When we take the queen, she will follow you _back_ to the starting side of the board and once she’s there, you’ve won the game. It’s not as simple as that though. The big ice-dice I make will decide how far a player can move up, but some of the spaces in the path are traps, and once a trap is set off you have to deal with it before you can move forward. Some traps are as simple as having to move back either to start or just a few pegs, or they can be as difficult as having to fight one or two of the ice-monsters on the other half of the board. And since there is only one queen, for example if Lyon had it, I would have to find a way to catch up to him and when I did I could kick his ass and take the queen from him, but as soon as he catches up to me he can do the same thing, back and forth until one of us makes it to the finish line. Oh yeah… and the snow dragons will be pelting us with random ice balls the entire time, and if we manage to hit one back at them we get to advance fifteen spaces, but if anyone gets hit three times they will have to forfeit their progress and go back to start.

I start off, “So this game is kind of like baseball,” Just opening with _that_ has the two of them looking dumbfounded.

Lyon laughs, doubling over to hold his sides, _explaining this might take a while_ …

 

…

 

An hour into the game and I think Juvia is really liking it! She was hesitant at first and not really into the idea of being on Lyon’s team but the two warmed up to one another and conquered half the board… Natsu on the other hand, doesn’t understand this game at all, he is beyond confused and we keep getting sent back to the start. Normally I would be pissed that I’m losing to someone like Lyon, but with Natsu so happy and giggly I can’t find it in me to care that the two of us are terrible playing this game together, we end up doing our own thing that has nothing to do with the game, a competition of who can juggle the most ice balls being pelted at us by Lyon’s creations looming above.

It might be hard to believe but this isn’t even the first time Natsu and I have had a juggling contest. I’m pretty sure we’ve made _everything_ a contest, at least once, and if we haven’t I’m positive we will in the future.

Juggling ice is easier for me than it is for Natsu, his heat melts the balls and makes them slippery and hard to hold onto, while with my abilities I can practically make them levitate around in a perfect spiral, but I wouldn’t want Natsu to think I’m cheating so I do the arm motions as if I were tossing them up and catching the in a cycle. When he loses his grip and drops all seven of his balls to the ground I think it’s because he can’t handle it anymore, but then he looks behind me, chalk white and _screams_ as he points somewhere beyond my shoulder. I drop the balls immediately as I’m whipping around to look at the cause of his distress.

There is nothing there. My heart is nearly pounding out of my chest for _no reason_! How dare that asshole trick me like that! I puff out a breath and glare back at him, “Natsu, that’s not funny!” I snap. He didn’t want to lose to me so badly that he scared me just so he can say the only reason he stopped was to prank me! _Jerk!_

He’s got tears in his eyes from laughing so hard! I punch him in the shoulder, only to get slugged right back, but in the chest.

The two of us go toe to toe, pressing our foreheads together as we glare into each other’s eyes heatedly, “You got a _problem_ , stripper?” Natsu asks darkly.

How can I go from adoring every aspect of this man to wanting to strangle him so quickly? “ _You_ are the one with the problem here, fire-clown!” I sneer back at him.

A growling noise emanates from the depths of Natsu’s throat before he pulls his head back, only to smash it against mine. Damn him and his thick head!

I stumble back, barely regaining my footing when Natsu strikes again with a fierce punch straight to my jaw. _Ok NOW I’m pissed!_ I dodge his second hit and slug him right in the nose!

 

\---

 

**December, 15 th, X313**

**Fiore, Magnolia**

**Juvia Lockser**

 

I had begrudgingly started out playing this silly oversized board game for the sake of not being rude. The rules were fairly simple I suppose, and fighting the ice beasts while avoiding being pelted by the snow dragons was a pretty interesting challenge. I soon found myself actually having _fun_ and getting very into it, seeing Natsu and Gray at start doing their own thing irritated me, but Lyon suggested we go against each other from then on and ignore those two while they giggled and hooted at each other all they wanted. I accepted Lyon’s challenge, and assured him that I would not go easy. He promised the same.

Lyon kept his promise alright, as it turns out, he’s just as competitive as I am, he’s in this for the win, everything gentlemanly about him was left outside this game. He had gotten the queen first and started to lead her back to the start, but I caught up with him quickly by knocking one of the ice balls back at the dragon above us and shattering it! Yes! Fifteen spaces forward, right on top of Lyon! As soon as we shared a square I greeted him with a swift kick to the gut, knocked off balance and sent to his ass I grab the gorilla by the arm and smirk at my opponent. Surely he would accept his defeat!

He is stubborn, from the ground, Lyon does something with his ice-make magic that causes ground below me to vibrate, I realize too late what he’s up to! A thick shell of ice forms around me and trapes me in a bubble that I can’t break with my fists alone. Lyon gets up, dusting himself off and grins at me as he reclaims the gorilla’s hand and uses his magic to roll the dice with the other. _Oooh he’s going to get it!_

He rolls a seven then takes the queen and proceeds down the swirly path and stops next to a tiny house, “Yes!” He exclaims, crouching down to open up the little door, he reaches in and pulls out a rather large mallet. _How did that even fit in there_?!

“What can you do with that?” I ask warily when he turns and shoots me a shit-eating grin.

“With this mallet, I am allowed to sever the path wherever I wish, that means the only way you can get back to start is by turning around!” He chuckles as he leaves the Gorilla to walk towards me with the mallet over his shoulder.

“That’s completely unfair!” I whine, smacking at the glace walls encasing me.

“All is fair in love and war, my dear Juvia.” He tells me with a wink.

I fume as I watch him swing that mallet down and cracked the ice floor between us, leaving a sizable gap. _I won’t let this stop me! I WILL win!_

“Since you’re still stuck, that means you forfeit your turn, which makes it mine again!” Lyon chuckles, picking up the dice where it lied on the ground and tossing it forward and I _glare hard_ at that thing, promising it a slow death if it dares give him any more of an advantage!

 _FIVE.._!? I seethe, my water boils and I use it to my advantage and whip it out at the walls imprisoning me, melting them completely into a puddle at my feet. I hold up my hands and use a cooler stream of water to snatch the dice and bring it over to me. _My turn_!

I throw the dice with all my might, watching with bated breath as it rolls across the board, when it finally stops, my entire body drains of color.

Lyon roars with laughter, almost falling to his knees if he weren’t holding onto the queen gorilla for support.

I puff up, biting my inner cheek as I take my turn with dignity. I take one step forward onto the blank tile in front of me and stop, listening to Lyon laughing even _harder_ from behind me.

“JUST YOU WAIT!” I shout at him, clenching my fist tight. _I MUST win this game! I will not be the loser!_

I glance up at the ice-dragon overhead as Lyon takes his turn. _Wait a second, if I can get the dragon to focus only on me I would have the opportunity to strike back at it and earn a fifteen space advancement again. But the dragon has been focusing more on Lyon since I hit it. What if I try to anger it?_

I sweat a little when I notice Lyon rolled another six. With his lucky streak he’ll beat me in no time. _Looks like this will be my best bet!_

I create a water whip, pull back and aim carefully up at the dragon, preparing my other hand to catch anything it may throw at me. With a powerful throw of my arm, the whip lashes out and smacks the ice-beast in the side. It growls angrily and glowers down on me, hovering directly above me while inhaling deeply. _Now I’ve really done it!_

I steady myself, _no backing out now!_ I prepare myself for the barrage of ice balls about to shower down on me. The tricky part about this is that the ice-dragon moves while it’s firing so we can’t just throw it directly back. In the middle of my fighting stance something occurs to me, _if I get hit three times, I’ll get sent straight to home! Lyon actually helped me out by severing the map, because now I don’t have to loop back around and I can go straight towards his path since there is now no other way… what a fool!_

I brace myself for impact, three balls make contact with me directly and I wince painfully, one in the shoulder, the second hit my arm and the third hit my knee. I assumed I would have to limp back but the dragon dives down picks me up and takes me down the path and sets me at start.

I make eye contact with Lyon, judging by his slack jawed expression he realizes what I just did, “That’s cheating!” He declares as he angrily tosses the dice over towards me.

I catch it with a cocky grin and roll it enthusiastically now that I’m in the lead again! I roll a four; I take those steps with a wide smile. Lyon is thirteen squares away from me.

“You scared now, Lyon?” I taunt him.

“Tchh…! Please!” He uses his ice-magic to roll the dice and lands on three. _Just ten more and I can claim victory!_

After my turn ends again there is only a four space gap between us, my fingers twitch in anticipation as I stare him down. As soon as his dice drops I will strike!

Lyon stares back with equal intensity; a gentle breeze ruffles his hair. The snowfall has lightened to a barely noticeable dusting around us.

He drops the dice, and the instant it meets the ground of the game board I spring forward, forming my own arm into a water whip that I coil around Lyon and lift him with, thinking of throwing him to the other side of the board, but he freezes my water and shatters it. I breath a curse through clenched teeth as he closes in on me and thrusts his fist forward, _how silly_ , I think as he just goes straight through me, _my body is made entirely of water_.

I think of how he trapped me, and I do the same to him, forming a bubble of water and trapping him inside. It won’t hold him for long, but I don’t need it to! I flash him a grin as I take the queen gorilla by the hand and use my magic to flip the dice with the other. _How lucky! A six!_

“This game isn’t over yet, Juvia!” Lyon says, freezing my water spear, but he’s still stuck inside of it!

I chuckle at him, grabbing the dice once more, “It might as well be, since you’re still stuck that means you forfeit your turn.” I say smugly as I toss it down and land on a five!

I skip along the path with the queen in toe, humming happily. Even when Lyon breaks free and is back in the game it doesn’t pose a threat to me, I cross the finish line before he can catch up and do anything about it. Winning fills me with such joy that I can’t resist jumping up and down with glee

“I have to admit, you were pretty impressive. Good game, Juvia.” Lyon tells me with a pleasant smile.

I nod in agreement, boasting in self-confidence, “I had fun! We should definitely plan again!” I find myself saying before realizing what that _meant_. _We should play again… was it that I found the game fun, or was it only fun because he was my opponent?_

“I’d like that too, Juvia… but honestly I think I’d rather go get something to eat, we could do this again another day!” He says cheerfully, stepping forward towards the edge of the game board, but then his shoulders tense up and he makes a disgruntled sound, “W-what the hell?”

I follow his gaze and _deadpan_. Natsu and Gray are rolling around in the snow _fighting_. I can only really sigh, it’s not like I can be shocked about something like this. I keep expecting to find the two of them to be all lovey-dovey instead of fighting but they always prove my daydreams wrong. _They really haven’t changed_.

“I hope Gray is careful… the baby could get hurt with all that rough housing…” I sigh, pressing my palm against my cheek.

“Huh..? A baby..?” Lyon blanches, “Are you saying one of them is pregnant?”

I feel all the color leave my body as I slap my palm over my mouth. _Crap! Gray didn’t tell him about the baby and I let it slip out so carelessly! I’m a terrible friend!_

I hold my hands up, waving them around dismissively, “I uh..! Y-you see… um… it’s… no-not really..!”

Lyon’s eyes are practically sparkling when he takes both my hands in this, “That’s it! That’s the secret Gray was keeping from me! When I asked him why he was working so hard he said he was _saving for something_ , a _baby_! It all makes sense!” He elates with excited whispering. His expression changes, gears turning in his head and his brows knit together as a thought overcomes him, “Wait, _how_ is Natsu p---” I yank my hands from his grip and quickly clasp my palms against his mouth and shush him loudly.

“Shh! You mustn’t tell! I wasn’t supposed to say anything! I let it slip! They are waiting to tell people!” I urge him with pleading eyes.

He nods, unable to speak with my hands muffling him, so I pull them back to reveal a smile, “I’ll be discreet, I promise. But seriously, _how_? I gotta know.” He chuckles softly, turning his back to the boys as he slings his arm around my shoulder to pull me into a huddle, “Is it because of Dragon Bond?” Lyon asks in a whisper with a quirk of his brow.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about…” I find myself saying slowly, but then the phrase repeats in my head and I vaguely remember Gajeel talking about it, “W-wait! Yes… I remember that term, Gajeel spoke of it once… but Natsu became _this way_ because he ate a fertility flower.” I explain, tensing when I feel Lyon’s fingers twirl around a single strand of my hair going down my back with a thoughtful look on his face.

“How strange… a magic flower. Do you know if they are _bonded_?”

_How does he even know about Dragon Bond? And why does he want to know if they are under the impression of it?_

“They are. Why, how do you know about it?” I ask slowly. I feel him shrug.

“I’ve heard about it through the grape vine, I was just curious. It sounds pretty romantic, if the rumors I heard about it are true then it means their souls will be connected forever, if they weren’t already.” Lyon explains with a faint smile as he untangles his finger from the back of my hair and places his hand back on my shoulder instead. _Why was he even playing with my hair to begin with? Not that it bothered me._

I tilt my head in curiosity, _if they weren’t already_? “Why do you mean by that?” I ask gently.

“Reincarnations… dragons have one mate for life, in all their lives. Or so I hear… apparently some bonds are so deep that once one is made with a specific soul, they’ll never be able to make the bond with any other. I’d like to think each life adds a new string to connect the souls more than before.” Lyon trails off, a pinkish color painting his cheeks as he averts his gaze, his lips press together in a thin line.

I blush brightly at the mere thought of something so intense, “That’s so romantic… it reminds me of the red string of destiny.” I mumble bashfully as I stare down at my pinky finger, imagining a red thread tied around it. _Who would it lead me to_?

I jolt a bit when I notice Lyon is doing the same as me, staring down at his freehand, lost in his thoughts.

_This is… getting too weird for me!_

“Uh… shouldn’t we stop them from fighting?” I suggest with a tense laugh. Lyon releases his hold on me and rubs the back of his head bashfully and nods.

“Oh, right! Of course we should!”

We both look over at the pair just as Natsu roundhouse kicks Gray right in the face and sends him crashing into a mound of snow. Neither of us makes a move to intervene.

“Not bad, even in his condition he’s still in peak fighting form…” Lyon observes, scratching his chin. I find myself nodding along in agreement and adding in more information I really shouldn’t be telling Lyon, “He’s only nine weeks along…”

Lyon perks up and looks over to me after I say that and chuckles, “I just had a funny thought.” He says, biting his lip to suppress his smile.

“Oh? What was it?” I ask.

“Can you imagine if they got married? I bet you fifty jewels they would get into a brawl before either of them says _I do_.” Lyon laughs with a small snort sneaking out.

 _I can imagine something like that happening_ , “I bet on their honeymoon they would turn their room into a boxing ring and end up getting kicked out of the hotel…” My suggest has another snorting laugh bubbling out of Lyon. I cover my mouth to hide my own giggles.

“They would _destroy_ the hotel!” Lyon snickers and I laugh along with him.

Another mental image pops into mind and I turn to Lyon, excited to tell him about it, “You know how sometimes the bride and groom squish cake into each other’s face? I bet that Natsu would just grab the whole thing and throw it at poor Gray.”

Lyon loses it and I do too, both of us covering our mouths trying to smother our laughter but it keeps coming!

“All the way across the room..! Gray would be just minding his own business! Pfffttt---eheheheh!! Falls on him from out of NOWHERE! AHHAHAHA!” Lyon’s words have me belly laughing, tears building in my eyes from the ache in my side I get from laughing too hard but I can’t stop!

 

\---

 

The restaurant Gray had picked out wasn’t anything we needed reservations for, we just walked in and they seated us after a five minute wait. It was a family-like environment, their specialties are cheesecake and breakfast foods, but they make a lot of good dinner options too, or so Gray says, I’ve never eaten here before.

We get seated in a back corner booth, Natsu and Gray on one side with Lyon and I on the other. After we stopped these two from fighting a tense atmosphere came over our group like a thick fog. The lovebirds are pouting, and I haven’t said a word to Lyon since we left the forest, I’ve been lodged in my thoughts, conflicted and confused. Why was I having such a good time with Lyon when I should be raging with jealousy that my date partner isn’t Gray? Why do I feel sad that the two of them aren’t sitting closer together and haven’t looked at each other since their brawl? And how come my hand keeps inching closer to Lyon’s on the seat? Surely I don’t want to hold it, do I? I glance down at his hand again, next to mine on the seat. We’re all waiting for our waitress to get back with our menus and water.

His hand is nothing like Gray’s. While Gray’s fingers are smooth and slender with the occasional scar and freckle, Lyon’s are bulky and rugged, calloused and scared; his fingernails are badly chewed down to the nub, which causes me to frown deeply. Gray keeps his fingernails pretty well maintained, I’ve never seen him with a hangnail, but Lyon has a fairly painful looking one on the edge of his thumb that it seems like he’s been picking at for a while. _What would holding a hand so different from Gray’s feel like?_

“Sorry for the wait! Here are your menus!” The peppy waitress says as she sets the sack on the table for us to grab while pouring water into each of our empty cups from the pitcher in her other hand.

“Are there any drinks I can get started for you?” She asks kindly after filling the last cup.

Natsu already has his glass in his hands, tossing it back and nearly emptying it, “Can you leave that here?” He asks, muffled into his cup as he gestures to the picture.

“Oh, certainly!” She says, setting the pitcher down in the middle.

“Do you have any cinnamon whiskey type drinks?” Gray asks as he thumbs through the menu. _Couldn’t he just look at the drinks and find that out for himself_?

“We do! Is that what you’d like?” The waitress answers gleefully, pulling her pen and notepad from her apron pocket.

“Yeah, hold the ice please.”

“Not a problem!” She says before directing her gaze at me, _spotlights is on me now!_ I sweat nervously and quickly fumble with the menu, flipping the pages in search of the drinks, I find them on the very last page and I skim through them fast, feeling pressured with her eyes on me.

“Umm..!” I say, trying to bide myself some time to read over my options, but my eyes only settle on _ice tea_ and I fumble out, “I’ll have iced tea!” I chirp loudly, slamming my menu closed awkwardly loud.

The spotlight leaves me and lands on Lyon next, he doesn’t seem to do well under pressure either since he blurts out, “SAME AS HER!” in the middle of the waitress asking, _and what would you like, sir?_

I have to bite my tongue and press my palm to my mouth to keep myself from laughing.

The waitress doesn’t say anything about it, she only smiles and jots that down, putting the pen behind her ear when she’s done and says, “I’ll be right back with those!”

The tension in my shoulders eases as soon as she’s gone and a few giggles escape me when I meet eyes with Lyon, “ _Same as her!_ ” I mock his voice quietly under my breath and he glares at me.

“I panicked…” He explains, cheeks turning bright red as he slouches back with his menu, using it to hide his face from me. _How cute._

“Graaay…” I hear Natsu whine quietly, and I look over to see him tugging at his boyfriend’s sleeve with a frown.

Gray doesn’t look up from the menu but he grunts in acknowledgement. The way he’s concentrating makes me wish I could take a picture and keep it forever. He has his elbow on the table, hand on his chin, covering his mouth with his index finger pressing his nose up in a pig-like way, with his hair still a disaster from their fight and a new hint of a bruise under his eye and another on his jaw.

“Can I have your water?” Natsu asks, reaching out towards the untouched glass with his fingers twitching at it like he already knew the answer would be yes. _Why is he asking that when the woman left him an entire container_? I wonder, I look over at the pitcher and pale. _It’s empty already!_

“Only if you gimmie a kiss,” Gray says, dropping his hand from his face to glance over at Natsu briefly with a neutral expression. _Here we go, Natsu is going to throw a fit and they’ll fight in the restaurant… oh dear._

I watch on in shock as Natsu grins and _giggles_! He leans over and presses his lips to Gray’s cheek, right below the bruise he made, then pulls away to claim his prize and guzzle it down.

Wait a moment… did Natsu and Gray just have a sweet moment!? No fighting? How unreal!

“You guys would make adorable children…” Lyon comments casually and I nearly choke on my spit.

Gray tenses up, looking at Lyon with a little panic on his face that he quickly masks with an awkward smile, “You think so?” He asks with a nervous chuckle.

Natsu grins widely beside him, throws his arm over Gray’s shoulder and pulls him in, “I think so too!” Natsu enthuses with a delighted giggle.

“What would you want, if someday you two ever did have children somehow, boy or a girl?” Lyon asks, leaning his elbows on the table.

Natsu and Gray both drift off into thought for the same amount of time before answering in unison, with different opinions. Natsu says _boy_ , and Gray says _girl_.

They look to each other in shock, speechless for a second before Gray smiles timidly, “B-but I’d be happy with either…” He adds in.

Natsu nods in agreement, “Our kid will still be tough no matter what gender they are! I’d be happy either way too!” Natsu elates as he presses his palm to his stomach with a fond smile. _Does he realize he’s giving away a lot with his actions? I thought Gray said he was the one who wanted to keep it on the low down until later! I don’t think I’ll ever understand Natsu._

Lyon makes no comment about his actions even though he notices the slip up, he only smiles at them then shoots me a knowing look.

“Well if you have two you guys could both get what you want.” Lyon says thoughtfully.

Natsu hums at that, “Actually I want eight! So I’m sure we’ll have a good variety!” He says casually. _Eight isn’t so bad._

“EIGHT?” Gray chokes out, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

Natsu gets a serious look on his face and nods once, “Yeah, _eight_. It’s an even number.”

“SO IS TWO, NATSU!” Gray shouts as he fists his hands in his hair and drops his head onto the table.

Natsu grins and rubs his back soothingly, “There, there…” He pats him, then leans over and plants a light kiss on the back of his neck.

_Too cute!_

“Eight is a pretty reasonable amount of children. A big family is a happy family, and since it’s an even number everyone will have a buddy to play with.” I say.

“See! Juvia understands, Gray!” Natsu laughs, reaching over the table to give me a high five. The warm slap of his hand against mine makes me feel strangely happy.

“Natsu, if we both have eight, then all of our children will have playmates with one another!” I realize with a gasp.

Natsu’s eyes widen and his jaw drops into an open-mouthed smile, “That’s true!” He pauses, then looks directly at Lyon as he points at me, “Get her pregnant immediately!”

Lyon blushes bright cherry red like mine does at first but then he simmers down, with the help of his ice magic, and then bows his head, “I’ll try my best,” He says with stony seriousness while the waitress comes with a tray of drinks and sets each down in front of the correct person.

My jaw drops, _how do I even respond to something like that!? Does he seriously want to have children with me? Just how deep are his feelings already?!_

Gray busts up laughing at that, snorting loudly, lifting his head he looks to me sympathetically and says, “I think you’re gonna want some of this,” Gray says, pushing his glass of alcohol towards me.

 

\---


End file.
